Indecision
by LillyBarr
Summary: Alice befriends an indecisive Vampire Slayer. She finds his inability to make a decision interesting and also terrifying since the decision he struggles with most is whether or not he should kill her.
1. Chapter 1

Adrian Daniels paced up and down a dark, misty alley in Port Angeles; growing impatient with every step he took. His deep, blue eyes darted quickly back and forth in the dark. His fingers passed the time by continuously flipping an ancient coin over and over. He hated waiting more than anything; it took the thrill out of the hunt. He'd been here for over half an hour now and boredom was really starting to sink in. Why couldn't the bloodsucker just show himself so the fun could begin? A smile spread across his face and heat filled the palm of his hand where the coin laid, just as a low growl echoed from the deepest part of the alley. Adrian's head snapped up, his once blue eyes now solid white. He strode further into the alley, stopping only when he could clearly see the man at the very end. He smiled as he took in the man's chalky skin, dark eyes, and confused expressed.

"About time" he barely whispered into the dark.

A cold hiss answered, "Who's there?"

"Death"

A high, terrifying laugh escaped the pale lips of the man deepest in the alley. "Really, human? You bring forth my death?"

Adrian quickly debated on whether to have some fun with this or to quickly get it over with. In one swift movement, his decision was made. He stuffed the coin into his pocket with his right hand and pulled a long, silver blade from the sheath on his back with his left. He sprinted towards the man who roared with excitement at the chance to take on this foolish human. The blade swung wildly through the air, criss-crossing in front of the cold, dark eyes. Adrian dropped the hand holding the blade to his side and watched as the smile suddenly left the man's lips. The body collapsed into a neat pile of separate pieces on the damp pavement.

Adrian pulled a small pack of matches and bottle of lighter fluid from his back pocket. He drenched the pieces of the man with the lighter fluid and lit a match. After dropping the match onto the top of the pile, he turned to exit the alleyway.

"Thanks for the fun, Vampire."


	2. Chapter 2

Alice Cullen slammed on the brakes to her yellow Porsche when she noticed the purple smoke billowing in the sky between two tall buildings. She was well aware that smoke of that magnitude and color could only come from the burning of a vampire's remains. Her tires screamed into the quiet night as she brought her car from 120 to 0 miles per hour. Scrambling from the car, Alice ran to the opening of the alleyway. She saw a tall figure walking from the cloud of purple that filled the tight area. She couldn't understand why she suddenly felt afraid. Alice watched curiously as a man approached the opening of the alley. He stood well over six feet tall and had a very tone build. He wore jeans and a black jersey. Around his head he wore a black bandana with dark curls peeking out from underneath that contrasted his unnaturally blue eyes. She seemed unable to move her feet despite the fear that kept building up inside of her.

Adrian tilted his head to side as he got closer to the main street. Were his eyes playing tricks on him or was there really a woman standing under the glow of the street lamp watching him? He must be dreaming. She was way too beautiful to be real unless she was a… Adrian shoved his hand into his pocket, shocked by the sudden warmth that was escaping the coin there. His midnight blue eyes began to fade to a snowy white once again. He clicked his tongue and murmured, "It's a shame the best looking women only want you for your blood".

"Excuse me?", a small voice asked him.

Much louder this time, Adrian called back to Alice, "I said that it's a shame I'm going to have to kill such a beautiful woman."

He walked closer to the light, wanting terribly to see the smug expression on her face that all vampires had when he declared they were going to die by his hand. But when he got close enough that look he longed to see was not there. In fact, she wore no emotion on her face at all. Just a blank, empty stare. Her eyes were not fixed on Adrian, they seemed to be looking at something beyond the alley. He could feel his own eyes slowly shifting back to their natural color as he stared at her curiously. He could not make sense of the way she was behaving. It was very unnatural for her kind.

"You were going to kill me. But now", her small voice caused Adrian to jump in surprise, "now you've decided not to."

Raising an eyebrow he answered, "That is correct. But I may change it again, so you better starting running."

Once again he waited for her to mock him. He waited for her to tell him that a mortal could never take her life because she was to live for eternity. Her answered, again, was not what he had expected to her.

"You will change your mind, many times."

Adrian looked down at the coin that was somehow in his hand again. He felt the heat from it and decided that he would go ahead and kill her. But he'd toy with her first. He'd wait until she let her guard down before striking. He'd ask how she knew he'd change his mind and while she prepared her answer he would take her life. His eyes now a fatal white shifted back to where she stood.

Shocked and frustration erupted in a roar from his chest. All that was left where she had been was white smoke and the smell of burned rubber on the asphalt paved road. She had silently fled while Adrian's eyes were on the coin. She was gone and so was his chance to kill her.


	3. Chapter 3

Alice slammed on the brakes of her yellow Porsche for the second time that night, this time just inches from the garage wall. She tried her hardest to close her mind as she walked through the living room where her family sat. She greeted them all with a cheerful smile and Jasper with a quick peck on the cheek. She caught Edward's curious eyes glancing at her and knew he was wondering why she was singing the alphabet in her head over and over again forward and backwards. She looked forward to the moment Edward decided to head to Bella's house for the night so she could finally let her mind wonder without anybody listening in.

Edward kept shooting Alice suspicious looks. He was trying so hard to read her facial expression to see how bad the thoughts she was keeping from him were. If he didn't have to be at Bella's house before she headed up the stairs to go to sleep, Edward would've stayed and tried to pry it out of Alice. But the last thing he wanted was to worry the rest of the family over Alice hiding her thoughts from him if it was something simple. Edward sighed and shook his head in Alice's direction then took off out the front door to spend his evening with Bella.

Alice waited ten minutes after Edward's departure before she felt that her mind was safe to wander.

_A slayer? In Port Angeles? So close to Forks. How was this possible? When did this happen? How could this happen? Had he been there long? How he did know that vampire was going to be in the alley? And how did he know I am a vampire? Nobody else has ever figured it out, except Bella. So how did he figure it out? Would he still try to kill our family if I explained we don't feed off of humans? Would he even give me a chance to speak to him? Or would he keep changing his mind like he did in the alley?_ _He had changed his mind about killing me twice in the alley and I saw that he'd definitely change his mind many more times. Did he have problems making decisions like that all the time or was it just me? I wonder if I can see him and figure out a place to meet him to explain my family's way. I have to try. For my family. I have to keep this slayer away from them._

"ALICE!" Jasper's voice cut into her thoughts. "Hello? You there?"

"Yeah, sorry Jasper, I'm here."


	4. Chapter 4

Adrian walked through the front door of an old, worn down apartment building and began to climb the stairs. He got up two flights and stopped to think before heading up the third flight to his unit. _I think I'll get a pizza, _he thought. He wished he would've thought of this before climbing all those steps. Turning around, Adrian jogged down the stairs and out the front door. He kept his pace at a slow jog the entire why to Jerry's Pizza Palace. Jerry's was a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant, ran by a small, round, balding man named Mic. _Maybe I should've gone for Chinese, _Adrian wondered as he stood with his hand on the door. _No, pizza will do._

"Mr. Daniels, good to see you. What can we get you tonight?"

"Hey Mic. I was thinking pepperoni."

"Alright, one pepperoni pizza coming up, just for you."

"No, no, wait. I've changed my mind. I want olives and mushrooms."

Mic stared at Adrian for a few moments; waiting for him to change his mind again.

"Actually, Mic, I think I'll have…"

"How about the Daniels Special?" Mic kindly suggested, cutting him off. The old man's crinkled eyes hid a laugh behind them. Adrian Daniels was one of his best customers but it'd just be easier for him to create a pizza with a different topping on each slice than to wait all night for this young man to make a decision.

"Sounds good, thanks." Adrian smiled tiredly at Mic and laid his head down on the old counter.

Adrian climbed the steps of his old apartment building again, this time with a pizza box stowed under his arm. He patted his right pants pocket and then his left. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door to apartment 306-G. He sat his pizza down on the kitchen table in front of a guy in his early 20s with long greasy black hair and thick glasses who was typing away on a black laptop. The man at the table lifted the lid to the pizza box and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Geez Adrian, would it have been too hard for you to just choose one topping?"

"You know it would be, Gabe." Adrian half smiled at his friend. "Would it be too hard for you to take a shower?"

"You know it would be", Gabe laughed and picked up a slice of pizza. "So, how was your visit with your Fanged Friend?"

Adrian picked at a slice of pizza and smirked. "It was a short visit."

Gabe laughed and started on another slice. He clicked a few more keys on his computer and devoured most of the large pizza himself. Adrian sat across from him and looked around the room at all the clothes thrown everywhere. He wanted to ask Gabe if it was normal for a vampire to seem afraid of a slayer and if he'd ever seen one run when warned they were going to die. He had never seen anything like the behavior of the woman in the alleyway. Adrian was suddenly very curious about her and would've given anything to ask her why she acted that way.

Adrian pushed his chair away from the table and started gathering up the mess of clothing. He picked through each piece to find his own. Gabe never looked up from his computer as his roommate threw his belongings around the room.

"Another vampire?" Gabe asked when he heard the door creak open.

"Nope, worse, laundry." Adrian jogged down the steps and out the front door of the old building. He glanced at his watch and saw it was past two in the morning. "Good, Suds should be empty. No fighting old broads for the washing machines."


	5. Chapter 5

After hours of sitting on the couch talking with Jasper, Alice was finally able to return to her thoughts. All she really wanted was to think of a way to talk to this slayer. So, she closed her eyes and forced herself to focus on his face. She caught a glimpse of a Laundromat in Port Angeles and the stranger from the alleyway sleeping in a chair next to one of the washing machines. She'd made her decision as soon as she had seen the vision. She'd go to Port Angeles right now and speak to him. She would make him understand what her family was. She'd make him promise never to touch one of them. Alice rushed to the garage and climbed into her bright yellow Porsche. She drove at top speed all the way to Port Angeles.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrian pulled change from his pocket and put it into the old washing machine at Suds Laundromat. He piled his clothes all into one load then set down in a chair next to the machine. This was his favorite place to be at night. Mostly because he could be completely alone except for Mrs. Chen, the owner. It gave him time to think or sometimes even sleep. Tonight he thought sleep would be the best option. He leaned his head against the washing machine and let the vibrations rock him to sleep.

Adrian's body jerked as he was awoken by something icy cold touching his hand. He looked groggily into a pale face of a beautiful woman. She had short dark hair and doll like features. Her eyes were a mesmerizing color of amber. She looked like something out of one of his fantasies, so Adrian leaned his head back against the cool machine and looked forward to continuing this dream.

"Can I speak to you?" a small voice asked. Adrian's eyes flew open this time at the sound of that unique voice. He recognized this voice from the alleyway earlier that night. And now that he was awake, he knew that he recognized her face too. He just stared at her in shock, trying to figure out how she could have possibly found him here.

"Do you mind if I have a word with you?"

"Do I really have a choice?" frustration filled his voice at the thought of being forced to have a conversation with his prey, a vampire. "It's not like I can kill you here. Not with her watching." Adrian's thumb jutted into the direction of Mrs. Chen hidden behind her People magazine.

"I'm Alice Cullen, I met…well ran into you at the alley behind Jackson Street earlier this evening."

"I haven't forgotten."

"I just needed to speak to you. I know that you know what I am. And you know that I know what you are. But I need you to understand something. There are seven of us in my coven. They are my family. We do not hunt humans. We do not kill the innocent the way most of our kind do. We try to blend with the rest of the world and to just live as peacefully as we can beside the people in this area."

"And why are you telling me this?"

Alice sighed, "Because I want you to promise not to touch anyone in my family."

"Why would I make a promise like that? Why would you think I could make a promise like that when you know what I am?" Adrian raised an eyebrow in Alice's direction. He kept his now solid white eyes on the floor and off of her face. He knew if he looked at her, he'd have to kill her.

"If my family is able to keep from killing our natural prey then you should be able to manage too. Plus, if I find you touch anyone from my family, I may just have to come off my 'diet'." Alice's voice was stern. She tried to make herself sound as threatening as possible.

"How did you find me?" Adrian closed his eyes tight, trying to force them back to their deep blue color.

"I saw you coming here and I just need to try to talk to you."

"But how did you find me?" curiosity filling his voice as he remembered her word in the alleyway about changing his mind many times.

"I focused on you and I saw you coming here before you even arrived. Just like I saw that you'd never be able to decide if you want to kill me or not. I can see into a person's future once they've made a decision." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Vampires aren't fortune tellers" Adrian chuckled.

"No, not most." Alice smiled at him, "Why couldn't you decide if you wanted to kill me? You had plenty of time to do it, I couldn't think clear enough to move."

"I've always had trouble making up my mind. And it seemed unfair to kill someone who didn't even seem aware of my presence at that moment." Adrian pulled the now warm, old coin from his pocket and began flipping it over and over in his hand. He ran his fingers over the ancient markings and down the center of the cross that was in the middle of the coin on both sides. _Why am I having a conversation with my enemy? _

"Why do you have trouble with making a choice?" Alice tried to pulls his thoughts away from the coin because she could see he was leaning towards her death once more. She could see the white film start to cover his eyes again and fade once more as he glanced up to answer her question.

"Because every choice you makes leads you down a different path in life. I guess I just want to make sure I'm heading down the right one. I am indecisive until I know which path is correct." He sighed.

Alice ran his words through her mind over and over again. She would just have to make sure that he saw her and her family living as the correct path. After all, they were nothing like other vampires. She smiled kindly and began to make small talk with him to keep his mind off the coin. She'd make him see another side of her kind. She'd make him understand.


	7. Chapter 7

Adrian shifted his body to face Alice. After two hours of conversation, he felt comfortable enough with his control to look at her. He stared at her with his dark, midnight blue eyes and cleared his throat.

"Can I ask a personal question?"

"Did I choose this life?" Alice asked the question for him as soon as she saw him asking it. "I really can't answer that because I'm not sure. I don't remember any of my life before I was turned. All I remember is darkness. This life is all I know but I can't imagine many people willingly choosing this."

Adrian shifted in his chair again so he didn't have to look into those sad eyes as she tried to force a memory of her human life to show itself. For a reason he did not understand, he felt filled with pity for her.

"How about you?" Alice's small, sing-song voice interrupted his thoughts. "Did you choose this life?"

"No, it just happens to be in my blood." Adrian smiled as she winced at the sound of the last word he spoke. "The first male born in my family for centuries now has carried the gene that turns you into a slayer. My father, my grandfather, his father before him, and his before that."

"So, you've been killing all of your life?" Adrian could now hear the pity in her voice, it caused him to chuckle.

"No, since I turned seventeen. That's when the power shows itself. On my seventeenth birthday, my senses sharpened. I became quicker and unnaturally skilled in combat. And I was given this coin" he said flipping the ancient piece over in his hand. He pressed it against Alice's arm to show her the warmth that escaped from it. He laughed silently at her bewildered expression. "It heats up when a vampire is near. And well, you're pretty close right now, so…" Adrian laughed again.

"And you enjoy this? You enjoy killing my kind?"

"No, but I do enjoy seeing the look on their face when I tell them they are about to die." He grinned mischievously at her.


	8. Chapter 8

Alice stared at him in shock and disgust. His words made no sense to her at all. How could somebody enjoy the look on someone's face when they are going to die but not enjoy the act of killing them? How was that possible at all?

Adrian could see the confusion on her face, so he leaned closer to her and in a deep whisper answered her unspoken questions. "Revenge, darling, it's only enjoyable for the justice I feel at that moment I see their shocked expression when I tell them they are going to die."

Her confused expression did not change but the disgust left her face. She knew that revenge could do crazy things to a person but what revenge would a slayer need against the very creatures he killed?

"Alright, brace yourself, you're about to enter an Adrian Daniels flashback." Adrian laughed to make light of the situation. He always hated telling this story but he felt he owed Alice an explanation. For some unknown reason, he cared what this vampire thought of him.

"Three months after my seventeenth birthday, I was on my way home from some, uh, training, I'd guess you'd call it. I unlocked the door to my parent's house and felt my coin heat up immediately." Adrian placed the coin against Alice's ice cold skin once more, this time for dramatic effect. He got the reaction he wanted as she drew in a deep breath. "I flicked on the light and it didn't take long for me to see why. My mother laid in the middle of the living room, the life sucked out of her. My father was against the wall near the stairs that led to our bedrooms. I knew the vampires who did this to them were still in the house. I could feel their presence and I knew they were up in my little sister's room. When I reached the top of the stairs, I could hear two voices arguing. One was a man, the other a woman.

'She has potential' the woman's voice said.

'We were told to leave none alive, Jane.'

'We will let Aro decide her fate, Felix.'

At those words, I burst into my sister's bedroom. I wanted to save her from whatever fate it was they were discussing. But when I got into the room, they had already gone. Out the window. I have no idea what happened to her. But for her sake, I hope they chose death. Becca was only eleven years old. What potential could an eleven year old possibly have as a vampire?" Adrian glanced at Alice. Tears lined the brims of his now deadly white eyes. He shook his head back and forth. Alice wondered if he was trying to regain control over his anger or the sadness that filled him after telling his story.

Alice watched him until she saw the white leave his eyes. She felt safer asking her question now that his eyes were back to that kind blue. "Why did the Volturi come to kill your family? I don't see how your family could have really concerned them."

"Your kind holds grudges. For a long time. My father was very, very good at what he did. He would try to take out a vampire and their mate at the same time so he could avoid being hunted down later but it didn't always work that way. So, someone's mate would come looking for him. They'd always bring help along. Which lead to someone else's partner getting killed by his hand. This caused so many vampires to try and track him down. They didn't really try to hide it either. They'd make an attempt to kill him at any time they could catch him off guard. He was never caught off guard and they were showing themselves to more and more humans. They were exposing themselves. The Volturi put my father at blame for this and took out the source of their exposure."

Alice gently placed her hand on Adrian's knee and quickly pulled away when his eyes snapped shut. She felt such sympathy for him. It is an awful thing to be hunted by the Volturi. She knew this for her brother, Edward, had placed them into this danger once before. She suddenly understood his need for revenge. If it would have been her family, she would have done the same thing. Hadn't she just threatened him with the same fate as his parents when she had thought her coven may be in danger from him?

Adrian pulled his now dry clothes out of the dryer and threw them quickly into the bag he'd brought with him. He threw the bag over his shoulder and looked over at Alice. "It's past six. I need to go home and get some rest."

Alice walked behind him as he headed towards the door of the Laundromat. She stopped dead in her tracks when the fresh morning air hit her face. Purple smoke filled the sky about a mile from where she stood. She didn't see how this was possible when the slayer stood right next to her looking up at the same cloud.

"Gabe." Adrian grinned as he looked into the sky. It was then that Alice realized he was not the only one.


	9. Chapter 9

"Do you need a ride home?" Alice called as Adrian took off down the street. She saw him stop in the middle of the road and turn towards her. She motioned towards her Porsche and heard Adrian laugh loudly.

"Bad idea, very bad idea." He whispered knowing she'd hear him and then took off down the street once more.

Adrian shoved the door to apartment 306-G open and yelled into the dark kitchen. "Honey, I'm home!"

"I tried to call you." Gabe's voice shook; his eyes still a pearly white under his glasses.

Adrian laughed at his friend's behavior. Gabe always seemed to require someone to hold his hand when he took on a vampire. "I promise, dear, I wasn't cheating on you."

Gabe did not laugh. "I tried to call you. I needed your help."

"You handled fine on your own, Gabe. I saw the smoke and I see you sitting here alive and just as greasy as ever."

"Adrian, there were two. I didn't know there were two. I finished the first one and was in the middle of pouring the lighter fluid on him when the second one came for me. She caught me off guard and I had to start fighting her too. By time I had finished her and set her remains on fire, the other had pulled himself back together. So, I had to fight him again." He was shouting at his roommate.

"You did fine, Gabe." Adrian reassured him. He reached his hand out to pat Gabe's oily head sympathetically but thought better of it and patted his shoulder. It was then that he saw the blood. "What's this?" He asked pulling the collar of Gabe's shirt to the side; he'd been bitten. "Shit."

"I told you. I needed your help"

Adrian ran down the hall of their apartment and returned seconds later with a strange looking device. It had a long tube running from what looked like an oxygen pump to a plastic, crescent shaped piece. He pressed the crescent piece to Gabe's shoulder and taped it down. He, then, began to frantically squeeze the pump. Blood, black as night, filled the tube and pooled into the end of the pump. Adrian continued to pump out the blood until it began to run a crimson red.

"I'm sorry, Gabe" Adrian put an arm around his friend. "I promise to be there next time."

"You better be there. If not, you may have to end up killing me one day" Gabe said gloomily pulling his laptop towards him. He began clicking away at the keys and adjusting the dark rimmed glasses on his face.

Adrian took this as a sign that his roommate was fine and got up from the table to go collapse on the couch.


	10. Chapter 10

Alice stepped through the front door of her home and headed straight towards the living room. She counted the faces by name sitting on the white sofas: Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and most importantly, Jasper. Bella sat next to Edward holding his hand. They were all discussing the upcoming wedding. Trying to seem as normal as possible, Alice rushed to Bella and planted a kiss on her cheek then dropped down on the couch next to Jasper.

"Bella, I have finished the guest list and you said you wanted full veto power. I really, really hope you stay sensible and not change a thing." Alice smiled broadly.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I am sure it will be fine, Alice."

The rest of the family continued to ramble on and on about plans for before, during, and after the wedding. The most popular of the plans for the Cullen family were the ones that were to take place afterwards and this plan was the one that now worried Alice the most. Bella was supposed to be turned into one of them after the wedding was over. She had wanted this for so long but Edward had refused to let her go through with it unless she promised to marry him first. Now Alice worried for the safety of her soon to be sister. New born vampires were difficult to control and would be even more of a problem with slayers running around town.

_Edward,_ Alice thought. Her brother turned towards the unspoken sound of his name. _There are slayers in Port Angeles. Two at least, maybe more. I am pretty sure I've convince one that our family is not a threat. But I can't be too sure he won't change his mind. _Edward looked back to Bella and his eyes said what he couldn't. He was just as worried for her future as Alice was. _I know. I am worried too; _she looked sympathetically towards Bella as she thought these words.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked worried by the look Alice was now giving her.

"Alice is worried that you're not excited enough about our wedding." Edward broke in, saving Alice from fishing for an excuse.

"Well, Alice, you knew that before I gave you permission to plan this silly ceremony." Bella joked towards her.

Edward looked back at Alice and touched his eye so quickly that no one else in the room noticed. _I'll keep an eye on the two and try to find out if there are others, _she silently assured him. He nodded with a smile and went back to chatting with the rest of the family and his fiancée.


	11. Chapter 11

Alice's doll-like face was inches from Adrian's. She was staring seductively at him as she leaned in closer to kiss him. Adrian's heart raced at the thought of her lips on his. He knew he shouldn't be doing this but there was something so erotic about the way she looked at him. He was drawn to her. She pressed her lips forcefully against his and his head spun. Her lips grazed his cheek then slid down his throat. Adrian's eyes turned a piercing white as he realized what was about to happen. Before he could stop her, she sunk her teeth into his neck and blood poured down his front. She bit him again with more force this time. He pushed her away from him and stared in horror as she wiped the blood from her now smiling face. He knew he was going to die.

Adrian hit the cold floor of the apartment with a loud thud as he fell from the couch. Breathing hard and fast, he frantically touched his neck and checked his front for blood. _Just a dream_, he thought. He was covered in sweat and was having trouble catching his breath. _Just a dream,_ he reminded himself. He pushed himself to his feet then sat on the couch with his head in his hands.

"What's up, Romeo?" Gabe laughed hysterically. "That disaster you called a pizza not sit too well with you last night?"

Adrian pushed himself off the couch and slapped Gabe across the back of the head as he made his way down the hall towards the bathroom. He turned on the sink faucet and splashed his face with cold water to clear his head. "What are you thinking? She's a vampire." He growled at his reflection. He wasn't sure if he was angrier at the dream version of himself for wanting Alice so much or for falling for such an obvious trap. "Of course she was going to bite you, you idiot! What would someone like her really want with you other than your blood?" _But she doesn't feed off humans; _a small voice in the back of his head answered him.

"Need a cold shower, Casanova?" Gabe yelled down the hall.

Adrian slammed the bathroom door and realized what a good idea that actually would be. Clear his head, pull himself together, and track down a worthy, bloodsucking opponent to put his priorities back in line. Surely killing another vampire would make him realize what a bad idea it would be to show any interest at all in this Alice Cullen.


	12. Chapter 12

After Edward dropped Bella off at work, the meeting began. Alice and Edward stood at the head of the rarely used dining room table. Carlisle sat with his head bent close to Esme and was whispering a hurried conversation with her. Rosalie had with her arms crossed over her chest next to Emmett while he tried to get Jasper to participate in a bet on what this meeting would be about. Jasper tried to ignore his competitive brother as he watched the concern continue to build in Alice's eyes.

Edward cleared his throat and the table became silent. He recounted what Alice had silently told him previously that morning.

"Slayers? Are you sure, Alice?" Esme whispered.

"Positive." Alice nodded. "I spoke to one. I found out quite a bit about him. I think I've convinced him our family isn't like others. I think we're safe from him atleast."

"So what do we do?" Rosalie questioned, leaning forward to put her elbows on the table.

"I say we killed them." Emmett grinned and Jasper high-fived him.

"No!" Alice roared.

Everyone at the table turned to look at her. Every member of her family had a confused and concerned expression on their faces.

"We can't kill him." She mumbled.

"And why can't we?" Jasper glared at the woman he loved and felt unease wash over him. Alice had said "him" not "them".

"He's Becca's brother."

"Becca?" Carlisle looked up from the spot on the table he'd been staring at. "Jane's Becca?"

"That's not possible" Rosalie narrowed her eyes. "Becca's entire family was killed."

"All but Adrian. The Volturi kept it quiet. Aro was very upset that they didn't kill him too but they changed their plans about him not long afterwards. Jane turned Becca and has been raising and training her as her own on Aro's orders. Becca is being trained up to kill her own brother." Alice explained. "The Volturi would come for us if we took Adrian out ourselves. They are saving him for Becca, that's the only reason he's even alive."

_Why is she calling this monster by name? Is she attached to this man who's been trained up to kill us? What the hell is her problem? She almost seems protective of him. _Edward slowly turned his head towards to sound of Jasper's thoughts. He could see the jealousy in his eyes although the rest of his face hid it well.

"Keep in contact with him, Alice." Carlisle instructed. "Watch him and make sure he doesn't lose trust in us. Hopefully, we can keep him from changing his mind so we don't have to worry about the Volturi coming for us if things go wrong."

Everyone got up from the table, placing a hand on Alice's shoulder when walking past her. She smiled weakly at all of them and stopped Jasper to give him a quick kiss. Edward waited for the rest of the family to clear out of the dining room before speaking to Alice.

"Be on the lookout for Jasper too. He's jealous. He thinks you have some kind of emotional attachment to this slayer."

"Adrian isn't that bad. He's a good guy but that's all. Jasper knows I love only him. That I will always love only him." Alice smiled reassuringly at Edward. _However, for human, he's not bad looking. _She instantly regretted that thought.

"I heard that." Edward laughed.


	13. Chapter 13

Adrian jumped out of the shower and dried off. He pulled on a red pair of basketball shorts and a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Looking in the mirror, he ran his hands through his hair then decided to go ahead and tie his black bandana around his head. He took a deep breath before opening the door and heading back to the kitchen where Gabe sat at the table eating sausage, cereal, donuts, and washing it all down with a soda. Adrian wrinkled his nose at the strange combination of food.

"And you thought my pizza looked nasty?" Adrian rolled his eyes pulling the box of donuts towards him and away from his roommate.

"Yeah, I just think you're indecision is rubbing off on me. I couldn't make up my mind which I wanted." Gabe laughed.

"Ha ha." Adrian rolled his eyes. "What time is it?"

"About seven thirty in the evening."

"Good." Adrian grinned. "Where's the nearest vampire?"

"There's been a few that sounded promising on the north side of town this evening." Gabe pointed towards the police scanner that sat on the cluttered kitchen counter. "You could go take a look out there. It sounded pretty gruesome though."

Adrian clapped his hands together and pushed himself away from the table. "Perfect!"

"Want any help?"

"No, I got it." He chuckled at his roommate's concerned expression. "I promise not to get bit."

"Don't get killed either." Gabe yelled as the door shut behind his wreckless roommate.

Adrian jogged down the three flights of stairs and out the front of the ragged old building. He stood in front of the building wishing he had a built in compass like Gabe. Instead, he had to find signs to point him towards the north side of town. Once headed in the right direction, Adrian practically ran until he reached Grover Street. He slowed himself to a walk and pulled the ancient coin out of his pocket. He placed it on the palm of his hand and formed a tight fist around it. His eyes scanned every inch of the road as he walked on. Adrian had never been this eager to find a vampire in the five years he'd been hunting. He'd always just known he'd somehow stumble across one. But tonight, he wanted to hurry up and get the party started.

_This is stupid, _he thought. _Why am I letting that dream get to me so much? Just calm down and go with what works. You'll probably be searching all night if you're actually looking for one. _

Adrian stopped in front of a club on his right side and his feet carried him inside. His deep blue eyes scanned the crowded room and stopped abruptly on a tall woman with dark red hair, almost black eyes, and pale skin. The closer Adrian got to her the warmer the coin in his hand grew. He tried to wipe the smile off his face but it was permanently stuck there.

The red haired woman was trying to convince a large, dark haired man to put down his beer and leave the club with her. He kept waving his left hand in front of her face and screaming "Lady, I'm married." The woman was still very persistent. _He must smell better than he looks, _Adrian laughed to himself.

"Hey sweetie, dance with me. I promise not to blow you off." Adrian's deep eyes bore into her as he placed his hand on the small of her back. "I'm Adrian." He grinned.

"Iris." She smiled as she sniffed the air around him. "Why don't we skip the dance and head on out of here?"

"Sounds great."


	14. Chapter 14

Alice sat down at the dining room table after the room had cleared and closed her eyes. She tried to pick up any hint of what Adrian would be up to. She wanted to speak to him. Her plan was to tell him everything she had learned since their last conversation. She'd tell him about Becca and warn him that she was meant to kill him in less than a year's time. She wouldn't let the Volturi surprise him like that. It was just too cruel.

Picking through the many faces that cluttered her mind, Alice finally came across Adrian's. He was walking with a red haired woman, a vampire. But his future was blurred. Two separate outcomes kept flipping back and forth as she watched behind her closed eyes. The first of the two suddenly became very crisp as he'd decided on this one. He would kill the vampire at the corner of Sunset Cove. He was safe for now.

Alice slowly began to open her eyes when Adrian's future switched again. He was in a dark room at North Place Apartment Building. His body lay propped against the wall with his own blade driven through his shoulder. The red haired vampire was closing in on him. Her eyes hungry and her lips pulled back, ready to strike. She would kill him. She would drain his veins dry.

Alice's first thought was that it would save her family a lot of trouble with the Volturi if this vampire took Adrian's life. She wouldn't have to get attached to him and wouldn't feel the need to save him when Jane and Becca came to kill him. She would be free of the worry that he would one day turn on her and then hunt down her family. All of that would be gone if she just let him die tonight. She watched her vision as the woman bent down to began feeding of his blood. She saw his eyes flick to blue as the life was sucked out of him.

At the sight of those blue eyes, Alice decided against letting him die. She jumped up from the table and ran towards the garage. Ignoring the looks from her family, she climbed into her yellow Porsche and peeled out. Her tired screeched loudly as she spun her wheel into the direction of Port Angeles.


	15. Chapter 15

Adrian slowly shut the door behind him after entering Apartment 1313 of the building Iris had lead him too. His eyes slid quickly across the room, taking in his surrounding, and trying to force control as the white film attempted to take over. Iris wrapped her arms around his neck and attempted to kiss him.

"You're not even going to make me work for it, are you?" Adrian turned his face from her.

"I figured you'd want to get straight to the point." Iris purred in his ear.

"Takes the fun out of the hunt." His eyes flashed white as he smirked at her.

Iris backed away at the glimpse of white she caught in his eyes. She stared at him curiously then glanced down at his right hand balled into a fist. She lunged at his hand and ripped his fingers open. The coin dropped and rolled across the room. Iris watched it roll as Adrian stood stunned, examining his now broken hand.

"Did you think I was that stupid?" Iris growled, her eyes now glowing red. "Did you really think this is my first time encounter a slayer?"

Adrian shrugged, "Was hoping so, but since it's obviously not I guess you won't mind if I kill you?"

All in one movement, Adrian pulled the long, silver blade from the sheath under his shirt with his left hand and Iris dived towards him. Adrian's head bounced off the wall behind him, his blade fell from his hand, and he slid down to the floor. A shriek of laughter escaped Iris's throat as she picked up the blade and walked towards him. She raised the blade above her head with both hands and prepared to run him through with it. She laughed hysterically at the thought of seeing his blood spill across the floor.

Adrian lifted his head and saw the shining blade inches from his face. He shut his eyes and was ready to welcome death. A loud crunch echoed across the room and he knew he must've been stabbed but he felt no pain. Opening one eye at a time, he looked around the room. At first sight it seemed to be empty. Then he noticed a small pale figure with dark hair ripping apart the surprised red haired vampire. Adrian pressed his back against the wall and pushed himself to his feet. And then it dawned on him, it was Alice. She had been the one to rescue him from certain death by his own weapon.

Alice gathered the piece that use to form Iris and walked out of the apartment building into a dark alley next to it. Adrian followed quietly, still feeling dizzy. She placed the pieces into a pile in the darkest part of the alleyway then turned to look at Adrian.

"Matches." Alice's hand bumped his shoulder. He stared dazed and confused at this vampire who'd just torn apart one of her own. "Adrian, give me the matches."

He pulled the match and bottle of lighter fluid from the pocket on his shorts and handed them to Alice. She began to spray the lighter fluid all over the pieces, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to check on Adrian. She lit a match and dropped it into the damp pile. She turned around and walked unnaturally slow towards the unsteady vampire slayer.

"I think you dropped this" she smiled, as she tried to place the coin into his right hand.

Adrian dropped the coin and held his hand, pain all over his face. Bending down, he picked it back up with his left hand and stuffed it into his pocket. "Sorry, think this one may be broken." He gestured towards his bruised and crumpled hand. "Thanks for saving my life, Alice. Really didn't see that one coming."

"No problem." She patted him gently on the back. "Now let's see if we can find somebody to piece you back together."


	16. Chapter 16

Adrian followed Alice to the opening of the alleyway but turned left to continue down the main road instead of getting into the passenger side of her Porsche. He walked quickly, knowing he couldn't outrun a vampire but hoping she'd take the hint as he couldn't be around her.

"Where are you going?" Alice caught up with him using no effort at all. "I was going to drive you to the hospital. You really don't have to walk."

"No insurance. I'm not going to the hospital. I'm going home. Gabe can fix this." Adrian lifted his right hand as he continued to walk.

"Is this Gabe a doctor as well as a slayer?"

"Nope." Adrian laughed at that absurd thought. "But he's a magnet for disaster. Therefore, he's highly skilled in first-aid."

Alice walked quietly beside him for a few moments. He was definitely stubborn but luckily she had practice dealing with this kind of behavior from Jasper. She watched as he cradled his hand and winced in pain.

"Carlisle is a doctor. Let me take you to him." Alice pleaded.

"Who's Carlisle?"

"He's pretty much the father figure of our coven. He was the first ever to make the choice not to feed of humans. He's been practicing medicine for hundreds of years. He's very good. Let me take you to him and you can meet the rest of the family and see what I'm talking about."

Adrian stared shocked at her. "Really, Alice? You're inviting me to your home?"

"Yeah, I am." She smiled at him. "I want you to get that hand looked at."

"No."

He turned to walk away again, Alice following close behind. "Why not? Why won't you come and let Carlisle look at it?"

Adrian turned quickly on her and pointed a finger from his good hand in her face. "Because it's dumbest idea I've ever heard! I mean, are you stupid? Really, Alice, what do you think will happen with a slayer in the same building as seven vampires? Really, think about it."

"They won't hurt you, I promise." Alice said and then mumbled. "And you haven't tried to kill me yet, so I figured it'd be alright."

Adrian took a deep breath, ready to throw a list of reasons why he hasn't hurt her out but decided better of it. He shook his head and turned towards his apartment once more. "Alright, alright" Alice moaned, "I'll call Carlisle and have him meet us at your place. Just, please, let him look at it."

Alice began a hurried conversation on her small silver cell phone with Carlisle and pointed at the car as she glared playfully at Adrian. He stalked off towards Alice's yellow Porsche and jerked the door open. He sat down hard in the passenger's seat and leaned as close to the door as possible. _This is a bad idea, _he thought to himself, _instead of putting me in danger by entering a house full of vampires I'm going to bring two of them into my home where another slayer waits. If she gets hurt during this…I don't know what I'll do. _

"Stop pouting" Alice shot at Adrian as she push the gas pedal as far as it would go and sped across town.


	17. Chapter 17

Gabe's eyes turned a piercing white as the small coin tied to a string around his neck began to warm a spot on his chest. He slowly looked up from his computer and watched the door as the knob began to turn. He pushed his chair away and grabbed a blade from the counter lowering himself into a crouch; ready to strike. He wasn't going to let a vampire come into his home without a fight, not again.

Adrian pushed the door of his apartment open and jumped back just in time to see his roommate jump on top of the kitchen table swinging a long silver blade wildly through the air. He laughed at the words echoing across the room, "NOT IN MY HOME, BLOODSUCKER!"

Gabe stopped mid swing at the sound of his best friend's laugh, "Adrian. But. My coin. What's going on?"

Adrian stepped out of the way for Alice to walk through the door. Gabe's body tensed up again as he glared at the vampire.

"Gabe, Alice. Alice, Gabe." Adrian gestured with his good hand and turned to Gabe. "She saved my life, so you're not allowed to kill her. Oh, can't kill her friend who is coming either. He's going to fix my hand." He pointed to his bruised right hand.

Gabe lunged forward and grabbed Adrian by the back of his shirt. Alice jumped back in surprised. Gabe dragged his roommate down the hall into a bedroom on the left side of the hallway. The room was lined wall-to-wall with blades of every shape and size. There were bottles of lighter fluid stacked in one corner and boxes of matches in another. He shoved Adrian into a wall, knocking three blades to the floor.

"What are you doing?" He yelled.

"I told you, she saved my life. And her friend is going to fix my hand." Adrian stared shocked into Gabe's angry eyes. "Calm down, man."

"Calm down? Adrian, we don't bring vampires home with us. If you didn't want to kill her then you should have just walked away, not bring her here. You know what happens when we bring them into our lives."

"She's not Janet, Gabe!" Adrian shouted. "Alice doesn't feed of humans. She won't turn on us like Janet did on you."

The sound of Janet's name calmed Gabe down a bit.

"Doesn't feed off humans?" Gabe pulled himself from his memories "Is that why she's so thin, starving herself?"

Adrian rolled his eyes, "Her family feeds off the wild life over in Forks. They don't feed off humans. She's nothing like Janet."

"And you trust her?"

Adrian shrugged. "I owe her my life right now. I like her but not sure if I trust her. I don't think either of us will ever fully trust one of them again."

They both turned their eyes towards the door of the room at the sound of knocking coming from the kitchen. "Carlisle must be here. Try to behave yourself." Adrian grinned and then added. "If they turn on me, you have my permission to kill them both."

Gabe laughed and slapped Adrian on the back as they both walked back towards the front room.


	18. Chapter 18

Adrian and Gabe entered the kitchen to see a young, tall, blonde haired man accompanying Alice. They were sitting on the couch talking in a hurried conversation that neither of the other two could pick up. Adrian cleared his throat to show their presence. Carlisle looked up and Alice ran over to Adrian and pulled him towards the couch.

"This is Carlisle." She said sounding very chipper as she introduced him. "And this is Adrian, the one I've been telling you about."

_She's been talking about me, _Adrian thought, _she's told her family about me. _His heart skipped a beat and a small smile stretched across his face.

Carlisle smiled softly and bowed his head in a greeting. "Let's take a look at that hand. Then once we fix it, Alice and I will get out of your way and stop making the two of you uncomfortable."

Adrian glared over at Gabe sitting at the kitchen table when he heard the loud snorting sound.

"What?" Gabe shot back at him. "They know their making us uncomfortable. We're probably doing the same to them."

Alice shook her head back and forth but it was Carlisle who answered, "Yes, it makes me very uncomfortable to be around you. But Alice asked me to do this, so I'm here."

He gently slid Adrian's hand forward and began to examine it. "Definitely broken" he muttered, tracing each bone with his long, cold fingers. "We'll need to plaster it." He mumbled again, pulling supplies out of a large black bag next to the couch.

"Adrian" Alice's small voice echoed across the dead-silent room. "Can I ask you something?"

Adrian nodded quietly as he watched Carlisle carefully wrap his hand with wet plaster.

"Why didn't you kill her in the street, like you had first planned to? You would have easily won that fight."

"It would have been too easy." He looked up and smiled weakly at her. "I didn't want it to be over that quickly."

"He was trying to clear his head." Gabe piped up.

"Clear it of what?" Alice turned to face Gabe now.

"No clue. But that's how he is when he wants to get something off his mind. He makes the fight last longer. He feels clearer after all that adrenaline flows through him for awhile. He did that for months after his parents died. It's just how Adrian is."

Adrian glared at his big mouth roommate and mouthed the word "Traitor" at him.

Alice turned back to Adrian. "What were you trying to get off your mind?"

"Nothing, just needed the adrenaline rush." He looked back at his hand and pretended to be overly interested in the process so Alice would stop asking him questions.

They sat in silence for almost half an hour. All three watching Carlisle work on perfectly wrapping the hand. All three looked as if they were thinking hard on something. All three wanted to speak but didn't quite have the right words. Carlisle seemed to be oblivious to all of this. He just worked quiet and precisely.

"It's her" Gabe's voice broke the silence. Everyone, including Carlisle, stopped to look at him. "She's what you were trying to get out of your head, isn't she?"

Adrian shook his head and went back to watch Carlisle who was still focusing on Gabe.

"Pathetic, Adrian. Really pathetic." Gabe snorted. "She's what you were dreaming about this morning. And here I was thinking that the two of you just met."

"Drop it Gabe."

"No, we made a promise. We'd never put ourselves into another situation like this. We wouldn't have anymore Janets. But you're doing the same thing with her."

"What's he talking about, Adrian?" Alice looked curiously into his blue eyes.

"Noth…"

"He's falling for you, Alice. The Slayer wants the Vampire." Gabe growled, cutting his roommate off.

Alice looked back and forth between the two men now glaring angrily at each other. She didn't believe this. He barely knew her. This must be some kind of crazy joke. Carlisle stared at the three of them, just as shocked as Alice.

Gabe shoved his chair over and stormed down the hall. "You had better get your head on straight, Adrian, because we're not doing this again." He slammed the door to his bedroom, on the right side of the hall, leaving the other three in uncomfortable silence.

"Could we just finish here?" Adrian mumbled to Carlisle.


	19. Chapter 19

"Well, Adrian, that's it." Carlisle stated as he began to pack up his bag. "Keep that cast dry, try not to pick at it" he grinned broadly and added "and don't use it as a weapon. You've got six weeks in that thing."

"Where do I find you to get it taken off?" Adrian asked, already picking at the thick layer of cotton lining the inside of the hard plaster.

"There's a free clinic on Main Street." Carlisle shook his head. "Tell Doctor Regan that Carlisle Cullen referred you to him. He'll take good care of you."

"Thanks" Adrian tried to smile at the pale, golden haired vampire. "I appreciate your help."

Carlisle nodded then looked to Alice. "I'll be right behind you" she assured him as she walked him to the door.

After Carlisle had left the little apartment, Alice turned towards Adrian and began to walk beautifully and gracefully back towards him. He'd never noticed how perfect her walk was until that very moment. He wondered if all vampires had carried themselves that way or was it just something different about her. He watched her cautiously, not wanting her to realize how much his eyes were really studying her movements. He didn't want her to think that Gabe's words were true. Although they were as true as they could be, Alice never needed to know that.

"Who's Janet? And what does she have to do with me?" Alice asked as she sat down next to him.

"She has nothing to do with you but" Adrian stared directly into her eyes, "everything to do with you all at the same time."

"Elaborate" Alice's voice echoed the frustration she felt by his answer.

"Janet was a vampire. Like you, she was very different from others. She didn't feed off just any human. She only fed off those who were already dying. She volunteered at the hospital in Seattle. She fed there; off the patients who had no hope or will to live. Gabe was in love with Janet. He had meant to kill her the day he met her but couldn't bring himself to do it. I think for awhile, Janet loved Gabe back." Adrian shook his head in obvious disapproval. "They were together for a little over a year. She spent a lot of time here in this apartment. It made things difficult for us to hunt because we had to start relying on instinct instead of our coins since she was always around."

"What happened to her?"

"She was asked to leave the hospital. They never knew what she'd been doing but patients complained that she made them uncomfortable. So, she starved herself until she couldn't take it anymore. I was out the night it happened. I came home and found Gabe sweeping up ashes from the floor and crying. Turns out, she couldn't control her hunger anymore. She tried to kill him in a blood thirsty rage. Gabe had to kill the woman he loved. We each other that we'd never allow something like that to happen in our home again. "

"So, Gabe thinks you're in love with me?" Alice tilted her head to the side as she look curiously into his piercing blue eyes.

"Yes, that's what he thinks." Adrian said. "But don't worry, I'm not."

He looked away as Alice tried to look deeper for truth in his eyes. Deep down, she knew he was lying but she didn't want him to say the words either. But she found it so interesting that more than one slayer has had feelings for those they are supposed to kill. "Does it happen often? Slayers and vampires falling in love?"

Adrian nodded slowly, "More often than it should, except it's normally one sided."

"How so?" Curiosity built up in her once more.

"It's normally the slayer that falls for the vampire. The vampire just normally uses it to their advantage until the slayer's guard is let down long enough to be killed."

"Why?"

"Alice, you and I both know the reflection myths aren't true. You know as good as I do what you look like. You're beautiful. No, you're beyond beautiful. You're, well, words can't really describe it properly." Adrian crinkled his eyebrows, trying to think of the correct word to use. "If we put you next to the world's most beautiful woman, her looks would fade into the background. You're beauty would cause any gorgeous thing or person is this world to seem mediocre."

Alice stared at him with her mouth half open. She didn't see those words coming. She'd envisioned him saying, "It's too difficult to explain."She was use to him changing his mind by now but the words he'd just spoken to her definitely took her by surprised.

Adrian traced her jaw line with the tip of his fingers and spoke in a voice so soft it could barely be considered a whisper. "Someone like that, it is so hard not to fall for them. So hard."


	20. Chapter 20

Alice reached up and slowly moved Adrian's hand away from her face. "We're talking about all vampires here, right? Not just me."

"Of course, all of them have that effect on people. That's why it happens so often. Most slayers say it's more like being under a spell than being in love." Adrian tried to smile despite the rejection he felt when she'd pushed his hand away.

"And what do you think it feels like? A spell or love?" Alice tried to see his answer before he spoke so she could prepare an answer of her own.

"I wouldn't know. This is the closest I've ever allowed myself to a vampire," his eyes flashed white, "without killing them of course. Janet only lived because I couldn't do that to Gabe."

Alice put a few more inches between them as she saw him debating on if he was doing the right thing by keeping her alive. She envisioned his hand reaching for a blade that lay on the floor behind the couch and using the weapon to take her life. She feared him but felt drawn to him at the same time. She knew he was capable of killing her right there but something told her that Adrian would never be able to go through with it.

His warm hand wrapped around hers and brought her back from the vision. She looked into his eyes that were just as quickly back to their deep blue. She saw the smile spread across his face as he realized that he'd frightened her.

"Don't worry, Alice, I won't kill you," he leaned in as if he were sharing a secret with her, then added, "today."

Alice laughed nervously, "Which brings me to my next question. Why haven't you tried to kill me yet?"

"I'm not sure really." A puzzled look filled his eyes. "Maybe I find you too interesting to get rid of just yet. Maybe I'm just playing a game. Or maybe, just maybe, I'm under your spell."

A grin spread slyly across Adrian's face as he decided to ask a question of his own. "Were you looking for me when you came to save my life? Or was it a coincidence?"

He leaned back on the couch and made himself comfortable. Watching Alice's thoughtful face, he knew it could be awhile before she decided on a response. Adrian enjoyed the way his question was forcing her to think. He could definitely tell she was looking for the best way to answer the question without sounding as if she had purposely been keeping an eye on his future.

"I was looking for you." Alice muttered.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that." Adrian chuckled, pointing to his ear. "My ears aren't hypersensitive like yours."

"I was looking for you." She repeated much louder this time. "I needed to talk to you but you had to get yourself into trouble and turn it all into a rescue mission."

"Why did you need to talk to me?" Adrian was suddenly very curious.

"Maybe I find you interesting. Or maybe I'm playing a game. Or, get this; I may be under _your _spell." Alice laughed at the annoyed expression on his now red face.

"Funny." Adrian glared at her. "Can't be the last answer though, I'm human so no spells."

Alice leaned forward and teasingly shot back, "No, you are just as mythical as I am, Mr. Slayer. I refuse to believe you get to be human if I don't."

Adrian grabbed her cold hand and placed it against his chest. Smiling broadly, he picked right back at her. "This makes me human. It's a heartbeat, darling."

Alice stared into his blue eyes as she pressed her hand harder against his toned chest. She couldn't remember the last time she'd properly felt the beating of a human heart. It was beautiful, almost musical. It mesmerized her.

"Ok, you win." She pulled her hand back slowly, sadness now filling her eyes. She longed to remember what it felt like to have the pounding in her chest. She wondered, had her heart beat just as hard and fast as Adrian's was.

"Alice," Adrian spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry, that was, it was really harsh. I wasn't rubbing it in your face. I was just joking."

"No, Adrian," she smiled inclining her head closer to his, "thanks for that. It was beautiful."

The sweet smell of Alice's breath hit Adrian's face when she'd leaned closer to him. His mind suddenly felt fogged. The white film began to cover his eyes, confusing desire with danger. He shook his head a little bit but the smell of her breath was still enticing him. He had the sudden urge to kiss her. Leaning closer, he inhaled the hypnotizing aroma and closed his eyes.

"I should probably leave," Alice's voice brought him back to reality.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I seem to be," he took a deep, rigid breath, "having trouble fighting your spell."

Alice quickly got up from where she sat and was at the door in a matter of seconds. She placed her hand on the door knob then turned to face the man she'd just left abandoned on the couch. She'd seen him kissing her, she'd even thought about letting it happen. She knew for sure now that Gabe's words were true, it concerned her, mostly because it made it more difficult for her to walk away.

"I'm sorry, Adrian, I can't give you what you want."

And she was gone.


	21. Chapter 21

"Why don't we own a television?" Adrian asked from a lounging position on the couch. He'd been stuck in the apartment for four weeks now, unable to come up with anything to pass the time. The only thing he looked forward to was the day he'd get to take this irritating cast off and go on with his once exciting life.

"Because neither of us ever uses a TV. I am normally busy and you use to never be home. Why spend the money on one?" Gabe rolled his eyes at his roommate's boredom. He'd had to deal with so many annoyances that he'd normally be free of if Adrian was out hunting vampires. It was hard to get any work done between all the questions he had to answer.

They sat in silence for what seemed to be too long for Adrian and not long enough for Gabe. Adrian picked at his cast; the cotton lining almost completely tore out of the top part now. Gabe concentrated on his laptop and was praying that the questions have come to an end for the day. He was definitely missing the peace and quiet that once drove him crazy. When Adrian got the cast off, Gabe would never complain about being home all the time by himself again. He laughed quietly to himself as he remember his mother once acting the same way about his father when he'd injured his back. _Crap, _Gabe thought, _I never noticed how much we act like a married couple._

"We need to invest in a maid." Adrian piped up, taking in the mess of the apartment. There were empty food packages strolled over the kitchen table and the counter. There were enough weapons to supply a small army cluttering the entire floor space. Clothes hung from the back of furniture and dust lined everything they owned. He'd never noticed how sloppy they were before. It was kind of disgusting and he was suddenly embarrassed that Alice had seen it like this.

"Or a very lazy individual could get off the couch and clean it."

Adrian raised an eyebrow and pushed himself off the couch. "Yes, dear. Would you like me to cook your dinner too?" _Cleaning probably would help me to keep my mind off of her, _he silently added to himself.

Gabe laughed, despite wanting to be annoyed. It occurred to him that Adrian had always known they'd acted like an old married couple. He shook his head as he watched his roommate stand in the middle of the clutter and try to find a place to start. He suddenly became aware of the mess their home actually was in. "Wow, it is bad in here."

"Yeah, get up and help me."

Gabe stood up from the table, picked up his laptop, and patted Adrian on the back. "No, I really think you've got this one."

Gabe turned to walk toward his bedroom at the end of the hall when he was hit with something hard on the back of his head. He fell sprawled out on the floor and tried to cushion his computer so it wouldn't break. He turned over to see Adrian examining his plastered hand and laughing.

"I really don't see why he told me not to use this as a weapon. It's so effective." Adrian moved his eyes to his friend. "Now get up and help me clean."

Once their combination dinning room and living room looked clean, Adrian dropped the black trash bag that was in his left hand and headed towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Gabe asked behind a pile of books he was removing from the counter. "I thought we were cleaning this place up."

"Changed my mind." Adrian shrugged as Gabe rolled his eyes. "I think I'm going to go down town and play basketball. Want to come?"

"Adrian, have you forgotten your hand is in a cast?"

"Well," he looked down at his broken hand then smiled mischievously at his roommate, "if you come play one on one with me then all I'll need is the one hand to win."

"But it looked like rain." Gabe protested again.

"Doesn't it always?"

Gabe dropped the stack of books back on the kitchen counter and pushed his glasses up on his nose. He hated playing basketball, especially down town where the Evans brothers spent most of their free time, but if it would get his friend out of the old apartment then what choice did he have?

"Alright, just let me change into some shorts and find my goggles."

"Yeah sure, we'd hate if you broke those 'so nerdy they're cool' glasses." Adrian snorted and leaned against the wall to wait on Gabe.


	22. Chapter 22

Alice sat impatiently at the Swan's kitchen table as she waited for Bella to get ready. She'd been looking for an excuse to go back to Port Angeles over the past four weeks and finally found a way to "accidently" run into Adrian. She knew she'd probably steer clear of him because of his feeling for her. However, for some reason she found that to be a very difficult task.

"About time, Bella." Alice huffed when she saw her come running down the stairs.

"You've got me paranoid about my wardrobe." Bella grimaced as she looked down at her old jeans and blue t-shirt.

"And that's exactly why I'm taking you shopping. You are so out of style and I refuse to have a sister-in-law that dresses like a grandmother." Alice turned her nose up and grabbed Bella by the arm dragging her out the front door. "Good-Bye Charlie!"

Alice skipped to the driver's side of the silver Volvo she'd borrowed from Edward and slid in while Bella climbed into the passenger's side. Grinning at Bella once out of sight of the Swan's house, Alice floored the gas and sped toward Port Angeles.

Alice cut the engine to the Volvo off in a parking garage right in the heart of the city. She explained to Bella "We are in easy walking distance to every store in town from here. This gives us complete freedom to shop as we please." _And its right next to the community basketball courts where I saw Adrian would be headed, _she added to herself.

"Great, walking." Bella cringed. "It should be great fun to trip through the whole city."

Laughing, Alice grabbed Bella's hand and bounced into the direction of the nearest clothing store. She threw clothes at Bella in every store, forcing her to try on every article that seemed even remotely near her size. After what felt like hours of shopping, Bella was drug into an Italian restaurant that she recognized as the one her and Edward had once eaten at. Alice insisted that she eat because they still had load more shopping to do. So, Bella ordered the ravioli and picked at her food, daydreaming of the near future when she wouldn't have to worry about such petty human activities like eating or sleeping.

Alice rambled on and on about wedding plans as Bella nodded at the appropriate times and put in her opinion when she felt her nods were no longer enough. She was very grateful when the waitress brought them the check and Alice paid so they could continue with their all day shopping spree.


	23. Chapter 23

Adrian and Gabe walked along the sidewalk toward the community basketball courts right in the heart of Port Angeles. Together in the gloomy daylight, you could tell how unlikely a pairing of friends they really were.

Gabe stood just at six feet tall and was real thin. He wore a pair of black shorts that Adrian had insisted should have been left in the seventies. He was pale and very unkempt. Gabe's black glasses were replaced with a pair of sports goggles that covered most of his face. His greasy dark hair hung in his face hiding his pale green eyes. His walk was a dead giveaway that he was shy and unsure of himself. The only confidence he seemed to possess had been left at the old apartment he often holed up in.

Adrian didn't walk the way his friend did; he strutted carrying himself with enough confidence for both of them. He towered over Gabe at six feet and six inches. He wore a pair of baggy green athletic pants and a white t-shirt that hugged the ripples of muscles under it. He'd left his dark curly brown hair hanging over his forehead just above his bright blue eyes. Adrian grinned enthusiastically at anybody who walked past them and nodded a hello while Gabe kept his head down, eyes on his feet.

"Oh no," Gabe moaned as they approached the courts.

Adrian looked up to see what could possibly be bothering his roommate before they'd even started to play. He smirked slightly as he saw the source of his distress. "Guess we'll be playing two-on-two today."

"Couldn't we come back later, Adrian?" Gabe grumbled hopelessly. "Once they've gone. I really don't want to go through this kind of torture today."

"Sure" Adrian pouted and turned to head back down the sidewalk knowing that they wouldn't get far.

As he predicted, the source of Gabe's fear sprinted up next to them. A short man with an athletic build and blonde hair that spiked in the front grabbed Adrian's shoulder and spun him around. "Where you boys going? Don't you want to play some ball?"

Gabe moaned and Adrian grinned at the young man who'd just approached them. "Well Ty, Gabe here didn't want to interfere in you and your brother's game. So, we were going to come back later."

Ty slide the aviator sunglasses he was wearing off his face and studied Adrian's lanky friend. "Gabe Harris, I haven't seen you since senior year. I didn't know you ran with Daniels here." He jutted his thumb towards Adrian. "Well, come on Harris, what do you say? You can team up with me. Adrian can be on Tank's team."

Gabe hesitated as he studied Ty's brother standing in the middle of the court. He was huge. He had messy dark hair and stood a couple of inches taller than Adrian. His bare chest was buff and his torso was the size of a tree trunk. His legs were thick and bulging with muscle under his long blue shorts. Gabe thought he'd have a better chance at survival if he were ran over by a city bus then he'd have being guarded by Ty's younger brother in a game of basketball.

"Or we can switch partners. It would put me at a disadvantage getting an injured player but if you can't face my brother, Harris, then I can live with it." Ty laughed at the horror on Gabe's face and motioned towards Adrian's casted hand. "Guess that means you're with me, Lefty."

Adrian pulled his shirt off and discarded it next to the fence. He slapped Gabe on the shoulder with his good hand then jogged onto the court high-fiving Walker "Tank" Evans and chatting with Ty. Gabe shuddered and walked slowly towards the other three. _Why couldn't we have just gone vampire hunting, _he thought grudgingly to himself.


	24. Chapter 24

Loaded down with shopping bags and enough clothes that Bella wouldn't have to wear the same outfit for months, the two girls headed back to the parking garage. Alice's unnatural beauty was catching the attention of every man and most women who walked by while Bella faded into the background with her average looks. Bella longed for the day when she'd be just as beautiful and wouldn't seem like the odd one out when she was with the Cullen family. Bella had just gotten to the point where she was toning out Alice's constant chatter about the wedding that she almost didn't notice when the flow of her singsong voice stopped.

Bella turned to look at what had caused Alice to stop and realized she now stood several steps behind looking through the fence that surrounded Port Angeles's basketball courts. She walked cautiously back to where Alice stood and tried to see what she was so absorbed in.

There was a group of four guys playing a very intense game. Three of the four were very good looking but she didn't see anything special enough to grab the attention of the unwavering beautiful vampire. The fourth outshined tremendously amongst the others' near perfect features and she felt sympathy for him as she often felt like the one who went unnoticed. Despite his unkempt and dirty appearance, he moved with such grace and agility that only one other on the court possessed. She started the take in the look of the other whose ability seemed unnatural for a man of his size when the smallest of the four caught her attention.

"If you push me again, Tank, I swear I will throw you a beating." The shortest boy pressed his chest against the largest of the four as if to intimidate him; his blonde head barely reaching the shoulder of the one he was yelling at.

Bella snorted with laughter and looked to Alice to see if she found this scene as amusing as she did. Alice was looking nowhere near the bizarre encounter on the court. Her deep amber eyes were staring directly at the one she had been about to look at when the outburst had distracted her. He had dark, short curly hair and moved quickly around the court. His blue eyes were noticeable despite the gapping distance between him and her. Bella quickly took in the appearance of the man Alice was watching and when her eyes found the cast on his right hand, it hit her. He fit the description Edward had given her perfectly.

Edward had been sure to explain everything about the slayers in Port Angeles to Bella and didn't leave out Alice's strange infatuation with one of them. He'd shared all of Alice's recent thoughts with Bella including what had happened at his apartment four weeks prior to today. He had warned her that she may try to use Bella as an excuse to go to this city since Jasper had begged her to stay away from him. Her mouth hung open as she looked back and forth between Alice and the slayer and realized she been taken advantage of.

"I can't believe this." Bella screamed as she tried to shove Alice's hard, stable body. "I can't believe you'd use me like this."

Alice moved her eyes from her target over to Bella and gave her a look of incomprehension. Bella's screams had also caught the attention of the four on the basketball court; mainly the attention of the blonde haired boy.


	25. Chapter 25

"Hey, hey, hey ladies." Ty Evans walked concededly towards the fence; pulling off his dark sunglasses to reveal bright hazel eyes. "How's it going?"

Gabe looked into the direction of the screaming and noticed the vampire who'd been in his home weeks ago accompanied by a very plain and average looking girl. He shot a glance towards Adrian and growled loudly. "Great, this is just perfect. Stay away from her, Adrian."

Adrian rolled his eyes at his friend and ran to catch up with Ty. He zeroed in on Alice and grinned broadly. He paid little attention to the girl standing next to her and knew Ty was doing the same. Once they reached the fence, Alice's small voice rang out like a melody to his ears. "Hi, Adrian. How's your hand?"

"Whoa, Daniels, you know this beautiful woman?" Ty scanned Adrian trying to find a reason such a gorgeous creature would have any affiliation with someone with such little charm.

"Doing much better, thank you. Who's your friend?" Adrian answered ignoring his friend's rude outburst that he was so accustom to.

"This is Bella," Alice answered pushing her forward, "she's my brother's fiancée."

Adrian slid a few fingers through the fence to attempt to shake Bella's hand but she ignored him and turned on Alice. "This is the slayer?"

"Whoa! Slayer?" Ty looked curiously at Adrian and chuckled. "Is that what the ladies are calling you nowadays?"

Adrian rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, that's right Ty. They still call you 'the little engine that couldn't'?"

Ty mumbled a few colorful phrases under his breath, shot him a rude hand gesture, and shoved his glasses hard back onto his face. "We don't have time for this. Let's get back to the game."

Adrian leaned against the fence and motioned for Alice to move forward. Dropping his voice, he asked "Would you mind meeting me at Suds later? I've got a ton of laundry to do and could use the company."

"I'll think about it." Alice called out teasingly, as he turned to jog back to the group standing on the courts. She caught Gabe's hateful stare, his eyes surely white behind his dark goggles, and gave him a friendly wave.

"Think about it?" Bella yelled. "What about Jasper? He asked you not to be around this guy! What are you doing?"

Alice shrugged and turned back towards the parking garage with more of a spring in her step than usual. Bella knew that this could only end badly. And to make matters worse, it'd begun to rain.


	26. Chapter 26

"Alright, lover boy, are you done playing with the girls? You ready to focus on this game and beat those two wannabes?" Ty shoved Adrian when he'd rejoined the rest of the group. "You guard Gabe now. I can take care of the giant."

Adrian put little effort in keeping up with Gabe as he dribble the ball skillfully down the court. He could tell his friend was upset with him but that issue could wait until he'd kept Gabe and Tank from winning this ballgame. Gabe passed the ball between Adrian's legs to Tank then ran his shoulder into his stomach knocking him over. _Okay, he's angrier than I realized, _Adrian thought from his back on the pavement.

"You're being an idiot." Gabe growled under his breath as he pulled his friend to his feet. "You need to stay away from her."

"I know what I'm doing." Adrian breathed back throwing his hands up before Gabe could to catch the ball that was being passed in this direction. He turned quickly and threw one handed at the goal. The ball went through the hoop with little effort.

The ball was passed back to Gabe and Adrian quickly ran forward to guard. He threw his hands up and kept his body two steps ahead of him. Gabe spun to dribble around him but couldn't get around. He tossed the ball towards Tank then reared back and punched Adrian square in the mouth. Adrian fell to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. Tank jumped up and scored the winning shot as Ty cursed loudly into the sky.

"You're moving out until you can get your priorities straight." Gabe growled at his roommate. "You're not bringing me into this!"


	27. Chapter 27

Alice skipped gracefully into the Cullen's spotless living room after dropping Bella off at home. She jumped onto the couch next to Jasper and planted a sweet kiss on him. She smiled up at his perfect face, happy she'd made it home in time to see him before he went to hunt. As much as she enjoyed time with Adrian, he could never replace the feelings she had for Jasper and she'd never attempt to let those feelings slip away.

"Did you have fun shopping?" Jasper studied her eyes, looking for some sign that she'd done anything other than what she'd promised; looking for a hint that she had gone to see the slayer.

"We had a great time, once Bella stopped moping over my dislike for her plain taste in clothing." Alice giggled. "She will be absolutely stunning from now on when we see her. She got so many cute clothes."

"I'm glad you had a good time." He smiled, convinced by her energetic answer.

Alice kissed him quickly on the cheek. She felt guilty not giving him the entire truth but she didn't want him to overreact about something that was so insignificant. She wanted him to be able to hunt without anything to distract him or to hold him back from going. He struggled more than anyone in the family and often needed these extra hunting sessions. If Jasper knew of her plans with Adrian that night, he would try to skip out on his trip and it would just bring temptation to go astray from the Cullen's way of life.

"I wish I could wait longer to hunt like you. I'll miss you terribly while I'm gone." Jasper whispered softly in her ear. "Emmett and Edward are nowhere near the company you are."

"I know," Alice grinned at the devilish look in his eyes. "but you need this."

"All I really need is you." Jasper cupped her small face in his hands and pulled her close to him. He pressed his hungry lips to her awaiting mouth and kissed her a passionate goodbye.

"Let's go, Jasper." Emmett's loud voice bellowed through the house. "She'll still be here when we get back."

Alice nuzzled her face into Jasper neck and kissed it gently with a whisper. "I'll miss you too, Jasper"

Jasper pulled her hand to his face and kissed each of her fingertips before forcing himself to get off the couch and walk through the door to begin his hunting trip. Once the roar of Emmett's jeep could no longer be heard, Alice tore herself away from the couch and began her trip back into Port Angeles.

She drove slower than she ever had on her way there. She felt a sharp twinge of guilt in her stomach and wished she could make it go away. She wasn't really doing anything wrong. Adrian was nothing more than a friend to her, it didn't matter how he felt towards her, right?

After convincing herself that she really had no reason to feel bad, Alice floored the gas pedal and sped closer to Port Angeles and closer to an evening with Adrian.


	28. Chapter 28

Adrian picked up his shirt, slapped Ty and Tank's hands, and told them goodbye. He watched them walk down the sidewalk towards the penthouse apartment they shared nearby. They'd offered to let him stay at their place until Gabe either cooled off or Adrian was able to find another place to live. He was very tempted to take them up on their offer but he was hoping another plan may come to mind first.

Adrian sat down on the bench next to the courts and let the sprinkling rain dampen his hair. He dabbed his lower lip with his shirt to clean the blood off his face. He'd have to go back to the apartment before meeting Alice. He knew he couldn't be near her smelling like blood.

_Maybe I just won't meet her, _the very thought depressed him, _maybe it's best to salvage my friendship with Gabe then to try to gain one with a vampire. _

Leaning backwards, Adrian's shoulders found the fence and he dropped his body against it. He was torn between two things that meant a lot to him. On one hand, he'd been friends with Gabe since he was seventeen. Gabe taught him everything he knew about slaying. He'd been his mentor and like an older brother. He had taken Adrian in when his parents died and didn't charge him rent. He was Adrian's only family now and here he was throwing it away for a woman. _But what if she's__** the**__ woman, _he wondered. Alice on the other hand, she was everything a man could really want in a woman. Not only because she was a gorgeous vampire but because she was different. She was interesting and funny. She was perfect in every way. _Beautifully seductive, _he grinned to himself, _and deadly, very deadly._

The rain picked up and was falling rapidly now. Lightning struck and not long after, thunder crashed, rattling the chained fence Adrian leaned against. He closed his eyes and just listened to the sound of the storm. Water soaked his clothes and run down his face as he sat there trying to decide what his best option was. He knew that the best thing for him was to kill Alice and apologize to Gabe. But he also knew that his heart couldn't bear to do it. He had unwillingly fallen for his prey; a vampire; a goddess in his eyes. _Maybe Gabe would be alright with me just walking away. Maybe it doesn't have to end in her death. _Adrian sighed as he pondered if he was even capable of walking away from her. Every time he'd closed his eyes since they'd met, Alice's face had filled his dreams. He feared that he would only be able to stay away for so long before the dream drove him mad and he would have to search Forks for her and beg her to forgive him for walking out. _Would she even care if I walked away?_

"Adrian?" a voice called to him barely audible through the pounding rain.

"I thought I said that I'd meet you at Suds." Adrian answered the sound of Alice's voice with his eyes closed.

"It wouldn't have done me any good since you're here, would it?" Alice sat down on the bench next to him. "What happened to you? Your lip is swollen."

"You happened to me." He sat up and opened his eyes. His stare studied her beautiful face and he realized he really never could walk away.


	29. Chapter 29

Alice dropped her eyes from Adrian's stare. The way he looked at her made her feel that she'd made the wrong decision by meeting him but no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't make herself get off the bench and go home. She let her eyes travel to his mouth, lips full but it could have been from the swelling. She took in the little goatee he'd grown to cover up his youthful face. Alice's eyes moved further, this time over his chest and abdomen; toned, scarred, and tan in color. She looked at his arms, covered in more scars that she would never ask about and a tribal tattoo on his right shoulder that didn't seem to belong. His hand clutched a bloody t-shirt and Alice was thankful for the rain; she knew it was the only thing keeping the smell of blood at bay.

"Alice," Adrian's fingers lifted her chin forcing her eyes back on his, "I'm sorry if I was making you uncomfortable. I won't stare anymore, I promise."

"Let's get out of the rain." Alice smiled at him trying not to explain why she had looked away from him. The truth was he really didn't make her uncomfortable at all; that was the problem.

Adrian nodded his head in agreement and reached out his hand for hers. Alice hesitated for a brief moment then placed her icy hand into the warmth of his palm. They both got up from the bench and Alice guided him to her yellow Porsche parked on the curb.

"I'll drive you back to the apartment so you can get your stuff then we can go back to Suds as planned." Alice cranked the engine and began to turn onto the road.

"Actually, I'd rather not go back there right now." Adrian frowned at the thought of having to face Gabe just yet. "Take a right here."

Alice followed his instruction and turned her car right. He gave further instruction as they drove on. The rain began to slow down and the night sky became clear and crisp. After being pointed into the right direction, Alice pulled her car into a parking spot in front of a small park. Adrian quickly got out of the passenger side and sprinted towards a huge oak tree in the middle of the park.

"Where are you going?" Alice called as she watched him. She tried to see what he was up to but like always she kept getting blurred outcomes.

Adrian didn't answer her. He jumped up and grabbed the lowest branch on the tree then swung his feet up so he could sit on it. After steadying himself on the branch, he began to slowly climb further to the top. "Come on up." He called down to Alice as he tried to adjust his cast a little to make the climb easier.

"Let me show you how you're supposed to climb a tree." Alice grinned up at him. She ran towards the tree and jumped. She landed in a crouch, almost cat-like, on the first branch. She proceeded to jump from branch to branch effortlessly. She caught up to Adrian in a matter of seconds and settled on a branch a little higher than the one he was on. "Hurry up, you're slowing me down."

"Who would've thought all you had to give up to be an expert climber is mortality?" Adrian grunted as he pulled himself up on the branch where Alice sat. "Such a small price to pay."

"Oh, but you get so much more for that price." Alice laughed at him struggling to catch his breath. "Like a short climb doesn't make you huff and puff trying to catch your breath."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Adrian rolled his eyes and gave her a playful shove. "I do have a broken hand, you know? It makes climbing a little more difficult."

Alice laughed as she watched him settle on the branch, trying to find a comfortable position. No matter how much he was kidding around with her, the sadness in his eyes stood out tremendously. It bothered her to see that look on his face. Since she met him, he'd always had a spark about him. It was one of the things that really drew her to him.

"Why did we come here?" She leaned forward to get a better look at his face.

"I didn't want to go home." Adrian pushed his hair off his forehead and turned to face Alice a little better. "Well, actually I can't go home but you already knew that, didn't you?"

Alice nodded and smiled apologetically at him. "Do you need a place to stay?"

Adrian studied her face, hoping she didn't mean what it sounded like. He didn't want to have to argue with her tonight. He just wanted to enjoy her company. If she was really thinking about saying…

"You could come stay with…" Alice stopped abruptly as Adrian held up his hand. "What's wrong?"

"Alice, please, don't ask me to stay with your family."

"Why?"

"Alice," Adrian shook his head, wondering how someone could be so naive, "I can not be around that many vampires. It is my job to kill them. I wouldn't be able to control myself."

"But my family…"

"I know your family doesn't feed off humans. I don't doubt you or them at all. I'm sure they could live with a human and not kill them. I'm sure they'd be fine with the arrangement. It's me I doubt. I can not change it. I can't control it." He looked at her, his eyes white. "You don't know how many times I've had to stop myself from killing you, just today."

"Five." She muttered. "You've fought it off every time. That proves that you can change it."

"Only with you. I have to force myself to focus on something other than killing when I'm with you, it's not easy. But I just…I…" Adrian dropped his head in defeat. He knew he'd have to say the words sooner or later. "I care about you too much. I couldn't show the same mercy for your family."

"Okay then." Alice whispered, knowing she wouldn't be able to change his mind. She knew he was right but she also knew her family would probably never allow him to step foot into their home anyways. As soon as Jasper found out this was the slayer she'd invited home, he would have killed Adrian.


	30. Chapter 30

Alice and Adrian sat in silence on the branch for a long time. Both lost in their own thoughts. Both secretly enjoying to silent company of the other. Words didn't have to be spoken for either to feel comfortable. It was easy for them just to be when they were together.

"So of all the places to go in Port Angeles, why come to this park? Why this tree?" Alice finally spoke into the silence of the night.

"It just feels right." Adrian smiled slightly. "I feel at home here."

Alice looked at his face wishing she could read his mind the way Edward would have been able to. Instead, she had to ask uncomfortable questions and hope she'd get honest answers. "What about it makes you feel at home?"

"My parents use to bring Becca and me here once a week." Adrian's eyes glistened a bit as he began to speak. Lifting his left hand, he pointed to a picnic table not far from where they sat. "We used that table every time we came here. I would try to teach Becca how to climb this tree while our dad grilled hot dogs and mom unwrapped the potato salad and opened bags of chips. Becca was too small the reach the first branch, so I'd put her on my shoulders and let her climb from there. You would have thought she'd won the Nobel Prize by the way she acted when she finally pulled herself up to the next branch.

"She never would go any further than the second branch. She was afraid of heights." Adrian laughed a little. "I really try not to think about her. I'd hate to know what those vampires put her through."

Alice debated telling him that his sister was alive and had been turned into one of them. She thought about telling him everything she knew of Becca. She wanted to tell him that Becca was meant to kill him as a way to prove her loyalty to Jane and the Volturi. She desperately wanted him to know the truth. But when she looked into his eyes to tell him she saw the heartache it would cause. The idea of him hurting anymore than he was in this very moment was too much for Alice to bear. She couldn't tell him the truth about his little sister.

Instead of speaking, she wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed his hand gently. Adrian shifted his gaze to her and smiled. He could smell her breath as she leaned forward to kiss him softly on the cheek. He felt less pain now that Alice held his hand. He felt his world could be complete again despite the loss of his family. The moment just felt right to him. He removed his hand from hers and slid over on the branch a bit so he could turn to face her properly.

Alice watched Adrian curiously as he moved. His breath was now rigid and nervous. She knew what he was about to do and she had no intentions of stopping him. As wrong as she knew it was, Alice wanted it just as much as he did.

Adrian placed his good hand behind Alice's head and pulled her closer to him. His heart pounded in his chest and his hands shook harder the closer he drew her to his face. Closing his eyes, he placed his lips cautiously onto hers. He kissed her slowly as he waited for her to decide if she was going to respond. He'd almost given up on Alice kissing him in return when her lips began to move with his.

Alice pushed herself closer to him entwining her fingers into his curly hair. She didn't know why she couldn't stop this all she knew was that she felt warmth in her body for the first time since she could remember. It was a feeling she wasn't ready to let go of just yet. She kissed Adrian back, energetically, until he pushed away panting to catch his breath. She smiled softly at him and when his breathing slowed, she began to kiss him again.

"My heart feels like it's going to explode out of my chest." Adrian grinned and leaned his forehead against Alice's.

Alice pressed the palm of her hand against his still bare chest and felt the pounding against his rib cage. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the musical sound it made. To her, there was nothing better than the sound and feel of Adrian's heartbeat in that very moment.

"Alice, I know this is probably the wrong time" Adrian pulled her hand from his chest and kissed her palm. "But can I ask a question?"


	31. Chapter 31

Alice opened her eyes slowly, fear building up inside her. She knew the question he meant to ask and desperately wished he would change his mind. She swallowed hard and stared into his blue eyes. She didn't want this moment to end; she didn't want to lose the warmth she felt. But the second he opened his mouth to speak all of this would be gone.

"Go ahead, Adrian." Alice inclined her head into a defeated nod.

"I was just wondering. Your friend, the one from the basketball courts, she said that someone asked you to stay away from me. Jasper?" Adrian tried to tilt his head so he could get a good look into her eyes. "Who is he?"

Alice closed her eyes again. Guilt washed over her as she remembered Jasper's goodbye earlier that evening. This is not where she'd meant to be. She wanted to see Adrian, that was true, but hadn't she told herself that it was innocent? Hadn't she told herself that they were friends, just friends? And here she was kissing him and enjoying it. Here she was betraying the only man she could ever remember loving.

"What? Is he your secret lover or something?" Adrian laughed nervously as he waited for Alice's reply.

Alice shook her head slowly and tried to look into his eyes. She couldn't bring herself to properly look at him. She knew she was about to hurt him. She knew she should have made sure he understood from the beginning that her heart belonged to another. They had gotten in too deep and now there could only be one outcome: heartache.

"No, Adrian" Alice muttered as quietly as she could, "you are the secret."

"Oh" Adrian lowered his eyebrows as he considered her words. Then it dawned on him, Alice was in love with this Jasper. "Oh, okay, um, how long have you and him…" his voice trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say the words. Alice's response to him kissing her had been what he wanted but he hadn't realized that her heart had belonged to someone else. He couldn't understand how he could have fallen in love with a woman who already loved another man. Could he be losing her already?

"He's been there since my very first memory." Alice replied with a heavy sigh. "He's always been the one I loved. I am so sorry, Adrian."

Adrian dropped his stare to his casted hand and began picking at the nearly nonexistent cotton lining. He wanted to speak but his voice seemed to have abandoned him. He kept opening and closing his mouth but no words could come out. A pain was rising in his chest. A pain he'd never felt before and hoped to never feel again. It was a pain so physical and so deep that he was almost sure that his heart was failing him. It was beating out of control and it hurt more than he could have ever imagined. Adrian lifted his hand to his chest and pressed hard trying to stop the aching that had settled there. He wanted his heart to slow down, he wanted his voice to come back, but most of all he wanted the pain to stop.

"Adrian, please, I'm sorry." Alice reached forward and took his hand from his chest. "Please, look at me."

"I…I…I just…" Adrian stammered. He couldn't find the right words to say. How could he explain to her that he loved her when she'd just told him that she has always loved someone else? How could he make her understand that nobody could possibly love her the way he did? What words would make that clear to her?

Alice studied his face as Adrian stuttered out incomprehensible words. She watched the pain build inside of him; growing more prominent with every second that passed. This was the last thing she wanted to do. This was the last man she wanted to hurt. She cared so much for him and if Jasper wasn't the piece that made her life whole, she could have loved Adrian.

"Alice," Adrian finally spoke her name, his voice clear and determined "I love you. Can't you see that?"

"No, no, you don't love me, Adrian." Alice stood up on the sturdy branch, shaking her head. "You're infatuated with me. You do not love me."

"I do. I really do love you." Adrian argued with her. "You just don't want to see it because it complicates things for you. But I do love you."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Adrian," Alice braced herself before she spoke the words. She knew she was about to crush him but what choice did she really have. "because I do not love you. I could never love you."

Alice stepped off the branch and soared gracefully to the ground. She landed perfectly on the moist grass and walked towards the parking lot. She forced her eyes to stay on her yellow Porsche. She knew if she were to look back at him than she'd never be able to leave. Alice loved Jasper and she couldn't let a slayer that had caught her attention come between them. It was better to hurt Adrian now than to let this progress any further. She knew if Jasper ever caught word of this that he'd kill this man; Alice refused to let it go that far.


	32. Chapter 32

Adrian slouched against the trunk of the tree. He had no intention of moving right now. He was going to stay in that tree until he had himself believing that this was the best thing that could have happened with Alice. He wanted to be convincing when he went back to the apartment to tell Gabe he was done with the vampire and beg for forgiveness. There was no possible way of doing that unless he believed it himself.

The sun began to peek through the murky rain clouds as morning approached. The birds began to sing and the road that led to the park became crowded with early morning traffic. The world was moving but Adrian remained still. He sat like a permanent fixture on that branch fifteen feet above the ground. His eyes drooped from exhaustion but he didn't dare to close them. Convincing himself that he was through with Alice was proving to be harder than he'd expected. _Alice, _his mind spoke her name and the pain in his chest shot through him again. He could feel his eyes falling and his head lobbing as he fought against the sleep that tried to overtake him.

An energetic tune filled the air and caused Adrian to flinch in surprise. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the source of the sound, his cell phone. Gabe's name and number lit up on the front of it. _Screw you, _Adrian thought and threw his cell phone to the ground where it broke in two. He couldn't believe Gabe had the nerve to try to call him after kicking him out. He planned on apologizing but he sure didn't see where Gabe had the right to start checking up on him.

Rain began to fall again causing Adrian to shiver and made him wish he had climbed out of the tree before it had started. He leaned forward and looked down to see exactly how far up he was. _Okay then,_ he thought, _jumping is definitely out of the question. _Adrian started an unsteady climb down the tree, taking each branch slowly and cautiously. Once on the ground, he pulled on his blood stained shirt and turned to walk towards town.

After twenty-five minutes, Adrian found himself in the shadows of the tall building that were scattered through Port Angeles. He walked past shops and signs. He ignored the stares people gave him when they took in his rough and bloody appearance. He continued on, still trying to find a way to convince Gabe that he'd given up on life with Alice.

"Adrian." A deep, husky voice called out, causing him to spin around. "Hey Adrian, where you headed?"

"Hi Tank" Adrian shrugged as Walker Evans jogged towards him. "I was just headed home."

"Man, you look like crap. Are you alright?" Concern filled the eyes of the large man's face as he watched Adrian struggle to stay on his feet.

"I'm fine, Tank, just trying to get home so I can get some sleep." Adrian patted him on his shoulder. "Where's your brother?"

"He's at home. Partied all night and is trying to get rid of the girl that followed him home." Tank laughed. "Never learns."

"Yeah, women are like that." Adrian tried to force a laugh as the pain filled his chest.

"Let me drive you home. I could be your brute force if Gabe has a problem with you staying there." Tank grinned mischievously. "I think he's afraid of me, so it could work."

"Alright, sounds good."

"This way." Tank led Adrian to his black F-350 that was lifted high off the ground with large off-road tires. "Going to take this baby out to Forks later today. I plan to do a little mudding. You and Gabe should come."

Adrian snorted a small laugh and shook his head as he climbed into the large truck. There was no way he could bring himself anywhere near Forks right now. He knew he'd be too tempted to track down Jasper and kill him so that he could have Alice to himself. "I'll think about it."


	33. Chapter 33

_How could I do that? _Alice thought as she plopped down on the couch in the Cullen's living room. She curled up into a ball and replayed everything she'd just lived through. She dwelled on it for almost half an hour. _How could I hurt him like that?_

"Jasper or the slayer?" Edward's voice blew through the room like a harsh wind. "Which one are you afraid you've hurt, Alice?"

"You're supposed to be hunting with Jasper and Emmett?" Alice's voice shook.

"Bella told me about your encounter with the slayer and I stayed behind to confront you but when I got back inside, you'd already gone." Edward sat down on the couch beside her and stared angrily into her eyes.

"How much did you hear?"

"More than I wanted to." He shook his head at her. "That you spent the entire evening with him, everything he said to you about his family, that he loves you, that he kissed you. That you kissed him back."

_I'm sorry; _Alice dropped her head and wondered where this would lead. She knew Edward would tell the others. He would see it as his duty to protect the family from the heartbroken slayer. He'd automatically think the worst of Adrian and plan their attack before he could make his.

"Sorry doesn't change anything, Alice." Edward growled at her as he got off the couch and left the room to find Carlisle.

* * *

Once Jasper and Emmett had returned that evening, the Cullen's gathered once again at the dining room table. Edward and Carlisle stood at the head while the others sat scattered around the rest. Alice sat as low as possible in her chair, hoping that this may keep everyone's eyes from drilling into her.

"We sure are getting a lot of use out of this table lately." Emmett laughed and took his place between Rosalie and Jasper.

When the family had settled, Edward began to speak. He described all of Alice's thoughts perfectly, leaving out only one detail. The kiss. He saw no reason in embarrassing Alice to that extent. He could hear her thoughts and knew she was weighed down with enough guilt as it was. These very thoughts assured him that she'd given up on the slayer and would remain faithful to the family and to Jasper. So he came to the decision not to make things any worse than they were about to become.

"I've said it once and I'll say it again." Emmett grinned and tensed up all his muscles. "Let's kill him."

"Agreed." Jasper growled as he glared at Alice.

Rosalie nodded slightly while Esme and Carlisle stared at each other, both hoping for another way to end this. Alice stared straight ahead at the wall across from her trying to block out Jasper and Emmett's ideas on the best way to murder a slayer. She couldn't bare the idea of them killing Adrian. But she also couldn't shake the picture out of her mind after the two had made up their mind that this would have to be done.

"Alice," Carlisle soft voice was now in her ear, "what is his plan? Is he going to keep his promise and leave our family alive?"

"I can't tell." Alice closed her eyes and tried to focus on Adrian. "His future is so jumbled. He always struggled to make a decision. He keeps changing his mind."

"Is this what has attracted you to him?" Jasper roared as he grabbed her arm to force her to face him. "His inability to make a decision, is that what made you into him?"

"Alice," Carlisle turned her back to him, "do any of his choices involve him coming after us?"

"No." she lied and shot a meaningful look at Edward, hoping he'd follow along.

"Yes." Edward corrected her.

Jasper flipped his chair back and growled angrily. He breathed heavily and glared down at the woman he loved. The woman who had betrayed his heart. The woman who was protecting another man despite his will to kill their whole family. He turned and march out of the room, sending his iron fist through the wall as he exited.

"One of us is going to have to speak to him. To make sure he holds good to his promise." Carlisle raised a finger to silence Alice. "No, not you. You've done enough."


	34. Chapter 34

Adrian was invited half heartedly back into Gabe's home with only a little persuasion needed from Tank. After telling Gabe everything that'd happened, their friendship quickly mended and life went back to normal. Well, as normal as it could be with Adrian moping around brooding over the heartache he was now suffering from. Gabe tried his best to cheer him up, he'd even offered to clean out the weapons room and turn it into a bedroom for him. Adrian turned him down and said he preferred the couch.

Two weeks had gone by like this. Two weeks of renewing a friendship and turning down generous offers to bring up morale. Two weeks and Adrian found himself sitting in the waiting room of the free clinic to get his cast removed. He glanced around the room silently taking in his surroundings. It was very plain. No pictures on the wall, no toys for the children to play with, and it smelled like cough syrup and body odor.

"Adrian Daniels." An attractive, blonde nurse called from the door. Adrian jumped up, eager to leave the smell of the waiting room behind. "You're going to be in room three."

The nurse led the way down the hall while Adrian followed closely. She opened the door to a room on the right and ushered him in onto the paper covered exam table. Opening a drawer from a cabinet in the room, the nurse pulled out a blood pressure cuff. She pulled his left arm up and began squeezing the cuff. Glancing up at him shyly, she smiled and stared into his handsome face.

"You have beautiful eyes." She commented, lost in the deep blue.

"Thanks, uh…" Adrian tried to be polite.

"Amber." She introduced herself. "They really are beautiful. They kind of capture you when you look into them."

"Yeah, thanks." Adrian mumbled and shook his head as he watched her write her number on a prescription pad. She placed the small sheet of paper into his hand and scurried out of the room blushing.

Adrian now sat alone in the small exam room and realized there was even less to look at in here. He really hoped Dr. Reagan wouldn't take long. He planned to use his first day of freedom wisely and go on a hunting spree within an hour after the cast was removed. Six weeks and he hadn't killed a single vampire; he was definitely looking forward to this evening.

"Mind if I take this one, Dan?" A familiar voice came from the outside of the room.

"Sure, Carlisle, it's nothing exciting. Just removing a cast." Dan Reagan replied.

"I know." Carlisle answered him. "My daughter, Alice, knows him. I just thought I'd see how he was and take a little work off your plate. Thanks."

Adrian's heart began to race and his forehead began to sweat. _Shit, _he thought, _oh shit. _He crawled off the table and backed himself against the wall grabbing a small pair of scissors that sat on the counter. It was a poor weapon choice but possibly enough to distract him if Adrian needed an escape. Fear built up 

inside him as he considered what this vampire might have planned for him. This is the last person he expected to run into. Carlisle had made it very clear that he didn't have any intentions of seeing him again after the first time they met.

"Sit down, Adrian." Carlisle instructed when he entered the room. Adrian didn't move. "Sit down; I'm not going to hurt you. We're just here to remove that cast."

"Dr. Reagan was supposed to do it. Why are you here?" Adrian questioned as he stayed as close to the wall as possible.

"Sit down and we'll discuss it."

Pulling himself reluctantly away from the wall, Adrian sat back down on the exam table, still clutching the scissors tightly in his left hand. He held his breath as Carlisle began to remove the cast. Dr. Cullen worked in silence, which made Adrian more nervous than if he'd spoken.

"So, why are you here?" He questioned while Carlisle pushed Adrian's hand back and forth; moving his fingers and wrist to make sure they'd healed properly.

"Alice asked me to speak to you." Carlisle answered without looking up from his work. "How's that feel? Any pain at all?"

"No, it's fine." Adrian raised an eyebrow at the professional mannerisms of the vampire. "What did Alice want?"

"You should be good to go. Try to take it slow when you go back to your daily routines. Don't push yourself; you'd hate to break it again so soon." Carlisle handed him a discharge slip.

"What did Alice want?" Adrian repeated.

"To make sure you're holding up on your promise. She wanted to know that you were still going to leave our family in peace, despite your falling out with each other."

Adrian jumped off the table and moved his hand around enjoying the freedom from the cast. The smell from his hand was strong and a little nauseating. He wrinkled his nose in disgusted then turned back to Carlisle. He wondered if Alice had really sent him to ask that question or was it just a safety precaution that their whole family had agreed upon. He walked towards the door and turned the knob.

"Carlisle, I really hate to break this to you," Adrian gave the vampire a hateful smirked, "but I never made any promises."

Carlisle's mouth dropped as he watched the slayer walk out of the room, free and angry. This was not the answer he'd wanted and now his family would have to take immediate action.


	35. Chapter 35

Alice parked her yellow Porsche in front of the apartment buildings and climbed out of the car. She propped against the brick wall of the building and waited for Adrian. She believed she was the only one who could get through to him. She knew it the moment she saw how he'd answer Carlisle at the clinic. She just hoped he would give her the time of day.

"Adrian!" Alice called out when she saw him approaching by foot, "Can I talk to you?"

"Alice?" Adrian rubbed his eyes in disbelief. A pain shot through his chest at the sight of her. For a moment he thought he was hallucinating but the warmth of the coin in his pocket proved this was real.

Alice waited patiently for him to reach her. She smiled warily and hoped he didn't take this visit the wrong way. She just wanted to make sure he'd leave her family alone when he hunted. She didn't want him to think that she'd come to see him for any other reason.

"Alice," Adrian grinned, "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I'm glad you're here. What's going…?"

Adrian's voice trailed off as his eyes hit the passenger's side of her Porsche. There in the front seat was a blonde haired man with perfectly angular features and black eyes. _Must be Jasper, _he thought as his eyes shifted from their stunning blue to a pure white. The more this day progressed, the more Adrian was starting to wish he'd left the apartment with a few weapons on hand. He'd come into contact with two vampires he would have killed in a heartbeat and one that he should want to kill but would never be able to.

"Adrian," Alice's voice drew his eyes back to her, "right here. Don't pay any attention to him. Just focus on me."

"What do you want?" Adrian mumbled trying to keep his eyes their threatening white as he looked at Alice. Despite his efforts, the ocean blue began to take over once more. He didn't understand how she had that opposite effect on him.

"I need you to promise me. Please, just promise me that my family is safe from you and Gabe."

"I can't make that promise." Adrian's glance shifted quickly to the yellow Porsche then to Alice once more. "I never could make that promise."

"Please, Adrian," she begged, "if you don't…"

"What they'll try to kill me?" he shouted at her. "Good, tell them to give it their best shot."

Adrian turned towards the door and walked through without a look back. Alice watched as he jogged hurriedly up the steps, leaving her standing there without another word. Once he was out of sight and she knew he wouldn't come back down, she got back into her car.

"So, that's your slayer?" Jasper smiled as Alice nodded. "Interesting, that's really very interesting."


	36. Chapter 36

Gabe jumped as the door to their apartment slammed. Adrian was pacing in front of it, fury filled his white eyes. His breathing was heavy and his fists were clenched tight. Before asking, Gabe knew that Alice must've been somewhere nearby. Nobody else had ever had such extreme effects on Adrian before.

"Sit down; you're making me dizzy walking back and forth like that."

"Fine." Adrian dropped himself into a chair at the kitchen table. His chest rose and fell quickly under his blue shirt. He leaned forward, trying to steady his voice before speaking. "I'm going to put an end to this, Gabe. Tonight. I'm done with this."

"Done with what?" Gabe lifted his eyes from the computer screen and found himself face to face with a sight he'd never seen on his friend before.

"The Cullens" Adrian spat. "I'm done with them."

"Geez, your hands are shaking like crazy. Calm down."

"Gabe, I'm going to kill them, all of them." Adrian breathed. "Carlisle cornered me at the clinic. He said Alice sent him. Then, when I was walking home there was a silver car parked on the curb. I didn't think anything of it until my coin heated him. It was warmer than it's ever been before. I look over at the car. There were three of them in there. A big guy with dark hair, a smaller guy with reddish looking hair, and a blonde female. They just watched me walk by. When I got to the apartments, Alice was standing there waiting for me. She brought her boyfriend. He wants to kill me, I can tell, his eyes were pitch black."

Gabe watched Adrian as he tried to calm himself down. He knew this was going to be a fight Adrian would want to go at alone. But how was he going to let that happen? Even the most skilled of slayers could take on that many vampires at once and Gabe had a feeling that they would be up for a one on one battle. A close coven like that never fights fair.

"I'll go with you and we'll call Brady and Jett." Gabe pulled out his phone. "Four of us should be enough to take them all out quickly."

"No, this is my fight, Gabe." Adrian shook his head. He wouldn't allow that many slayers around Alice. He planned to keep her alive. "You stay here. If I'm not back by sunrise, then you can take care of the ones I didn't manage to kill."

"Not going to happen, Adrian." Gabe rolled his eyes at his friend's foolishness. "We're a team. You know that."

"That's why you need to stay." Adrian's eyes finally faded back to their stunning blue as he considered what would happen if he let clumsy Gabe fight alongside him. "You'll distract me too much and then we'll both get killed. I'm not letting the last of my family die for me."


	37. Chapter 37

"You can't do this." Alice screamed as she paced down the hall between Jasper and Emmett's rooms. "This is crazy. It's completely unnecessary."

"This is exactly what has to be done, Alice." Jasper spat back from the doorway of Emmett's room. "He can't make the promise, then how will our family ever be safe?"

"If he's dead, we'll be safe." Emmett cackled from inside the room.

Alice threw her hands up in the air and stormed off down the hall. She ran down a flight of stairs and stormed into Carlisle's office. He sat behind a large, brown desk with his head in his hands. She could tell he was just as upset with the others' decision as she was. All she could do was hope that he'd make the choice to talk them out of their attack.

"Carlisle, we have to do something. We have to stop this." Alice pleaded.

"Actually, I think this is best." Carlisle shook his head. It wasn't what he wanted for his family but he felt it was the only way they could all be safe again. "I've given my permission for them to go to Port Angeles tonight."

"Why?" Alice stammered. "Why would you condemn Adrian to death? He's never even attempted to touch one of us. Never."

"Not yet, Alice." Carlisle walked around to the front of his desk to place his arm around her shoulder. "But he will. He feels betrayed, he will attack soon."

Alice ran from Carlisle's office and down to the garage. She climbed into her yellow Porsche and started the engine. She couldn't believe the way her family was behaving. She couldn't believe they'd choose to murder someone without as much as a second thought. _Well, _Alice thought, _I'll have to warn Adrian before they get to him. I'll have to convince him to leave before they find him. _Alice drove at top speed to Port Angeles, hoping she'd make it before he'd done anything rash.

"We've got to stop Alice." Edward informed Carlisle. "She's gone to Port Angeles. She's gone to warn him."

"Send Jasper ahead to find her." Carlisle sighed. "Do not attack until she's safe."


	38. Chapter 38

__

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews. It's awesome to have people interested in what I have to write. I am so sad that this story is quickly coming to an end. I'm going to miss writing it. I hope you will all find just as much interest in my next story. I plan to write from the beginning of Adrian's life. I wanted people to get a better understanding of him and I also wanted to explain his friendship with Gabe and many other characters. Plus, I wanted you to see the ways of the Slayers to make things a little easier to understand.

_Let me know what you think of the idea and if you'd be interested in reading that story. _

* * *

Adrian traded his khaki pants for a pair of loose fitting jeans and his blue t-shirt for a black tank top. He wanted as much slack as possible to allow for more movement. He pulled on a pair of black leather gloves with the fingers cut away for a little support on his right hand. Gabe helped him to strap two blades in an X on his back and one smaller blade to his right calf.

"Are you sure you don't want any help, Adrian?" Gabe asked, his voice filled with concern. "It's not going to be an easy fight."

"I'm sure, Gabe. I know it won't be easy but I'm not dragging you into this mess." Adrian placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It'll be fine. When I come back, I'll bring a pizza." He laughed.

"Uh, how about you just come back safe and we'll forget the pizza?" Gabe shuddered at the thought of one of Adrian's special pizzas. "Brady has a car waiting at the old parking garage downtown. The keys are under the driver's side front wheel. He says it's about an hour drive to Forks. It's midnight now, if you're not back by sun up, we're coming to find you."

"Sounds good." Adrian said tying his bandana around his forehead. "What kind of car is it anyways?"

''Dodge Viper." Gabe grinned at the pleased look on Adrian's face. "Red."

"Make sure he knows that I may not be willing to give the car back." Adrian winked then turned towards the door of their apartment. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"Adrian," Gabe grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a one armed hug, "try not to get yourself killed."

Adrian smiled slightly, not sure he could keep the promise then returned the one armed hug. He released Gabe and walked out the door. He turned the corner and went through the door to the stairwell. Jogging down the steps two at a time, he finally reached the first floor. His heart was racing as he wondered if this is what he really should be doing. _They haven't really made an attempt to come for me yet, _Adrian thought trying to talk himself out of this. _You couldn't make the promise, they will come for you and maybe even for Gabe, _a stronger thought reminded him why this had to be done.

Adrian pushed open the door to the stairwell and stopped dead in his tracks. A bright, yellow Porsche was just visible through the glass panes of the front doors. Alice was climbing out of the driver's side and was heading towards the front door. Adrian turned back through the stairs and sprinted to the top floor. He knew if she spoke to him that she'd be capable of changing his mind. He couldn't allow that. He couldn't let the vampires win this fight.

Adrian pushed open the door to the roof of the building and walked to the edge. He leaned carefully over the edge and looked down at Alice's car; she was already inside the building. Parked behind it now was a black Mercedes. The engine to the new car was still running and the lights shone bright against the sunny color of the Porsche. Adrian squinted as the door to the black vehicle began to open. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the honey blonde hair of Jasper appear.


	39. Chapter 39

Alice sped up the steps to the third floor at a speed that almost made her invisible to the human eye. She stopped effortlessly in front of apartment 306-G. She knew Adrian wasn't on the other side of this door. She knew the only slayer she would find there was Gabe. But since she couldn't get a clear image of what Adrian was up to the information Gabe had would have to work.

"Gabe," Alice banged on the door, "open up, it's Alice. I need to talk to you."

"Adrian's not here. Go away." Alice could hear the sound of his heartbeat close to the door. It beat fast and hard.

"I'm here to see you; I need you to help me find him." She spoke to the wooden door. "I need to warn him that my family is coming for him tonight."

Alice waited as she listened to the sounds of locks and chains being undone. She smiled in relief when the door cracked open and Gabe's white eyes, shielded behind his thick glasses, peered through it. She tried to look as calm as possible. She didn't want to give Gabe any reason to attack her. He had to realize that Alice was here to help not to cause more problems.

"Where is he, Gabe?" Alice pleaded.

"He's headed to Forks. It seems he had the same idea as your family."

"No," Alice shook her head, "he's still in Port Angeles, nearby. I can't tell what he's up to. But it doesn't look like he plans on leaving anymore."

Gabe opened the door wide and stared stunned at the vampire who had more information on his friend than he did. "Why wouldn't he leave? He said he was going to Forks. I don't think anything could have stopped him."

"I don't know, Gabe." Alice closed her eyes and tried to see what was happening with Adrian. "He's not really known for sticking to a decision, so there's no telling what he's got planned now."

Gabe watched Alice concentrate. She looked genuinely concerned for Adrian's safety. His eyes shifted to their natural, pale green as he realized how much this vampire cared for his friend. She looked as if this was the hardest thing she'd ever had to go through. She looked as if she felt she was about to lose the love of her life.

"You didn't pass him on your way into the building?" Gabe suddenly asked.

"No, I haven't seen him."

"He's still here then, he's still in the apartments somewhere."

"Oh no, no." Alice's eyes opened wide as she spun on the spot and headed towards the stairwell. "I have to go, Gabe. I have to go."


	40. Chapter 40

Adrian took off across the rooftop and headed back down the stairwell. Jasper was now in the building. He couldn't allow him to get anywhere near the third floor. He doubted that he'd show the same mercy for Gabe that he knew Alice would. In fact, he was sure that Jasper was the type who'd waste no time dealing with the slayer getting in the way of him tracking down his prey. Adrian's heart raced, his hands were closed into fists, and he was filled with an anger that tore away at him.

He leapt from landing to landing falling into a perfect crouch at the end of each set of steps. Once he reached the stairs that led down to the third floor, he stopped. A sudden wave of tranquility washed over him. His body relaxed and he felt unnaturally peaceful considering the hatred that had just consumed him moments prior. Taking a few steps backward, Adrian felt the anger return and his body tense. Stepping forward, all of it faded once more. _This is just great, _he thought.

"Good evening, slayer." A deep but musical voice echoed below.

"Jasper" Adrian growled as he took a couple of more steps backwards.

"I see Alice hasn't found you." Jasper decided to move closer since the slayer was trying to step out of his range. "That means we can settle this whole mess without any interruptions."

"Good, this saves me a trip to Forks." Adrian pulled a blade from its holster on his back.

"Eager, are we?" Jasper chuckled and glided gracefully up a few stairs. He laughed harder as he watched the slayer's eyes shift unwillingly back to blue. "I can see it in your eyes. You know that I have the upper hand because I can manipulate how you feel. I can keep you clam."

"I didn't expect you to play fair." Adrian's grip loosened around the blade as Jasper drew closer. His breathing was slow now and his face was content despite the inner war that was raging with his mind to force the anger back.

The door to the third floor landing burst open and Alice appeared there. Her eyes darted back and forth between the spot where Adrian stood and where Jasper stood glaring at him. She'd lived with Jasper and dealt with his unique ability for so long that she had almost forgotten the affect it could have on people. Adrian's expression was so calm that he almost looked drugged.

"Jasper," Alice turned to him, "please don't do this. Let's just go home."

Jasper tore his stare away from Adrian and took in the pleading look on Alice's face. He hated what he saw there. He hated that she was here begging him to spare the life of a man who had professed his love to her. But he loved her so much that it brought pain to him to see her look of uncertainty and fear.

"He's going to die either way, Alice." Jasper shook his head, trying to reason with her. "But we really can't wait on the Volturi to act. He was probably headed to kill our family right now."

Alice looked to Adrian and knew he now realized that he was somehow freed from Jasper's spell and she could see the hatred building in his deathly white eyes again. She glanced back at Jasper who was still 

staring sympathetically at her. The vision erupted in her mind. The terror that was about to become reality as she saw from the corner of her eyes that Adrian was now lunging towards them.


	41. Chapter 41

"JASPER" Alice's high pitched scream echoed through the enclosed area.

She threw herself in front of the man she loved and the man she cared so deeply about. She had made her choice long before Adrian had made his and she would follow through. Alice ripped the blade from Adrian's hand and ran it through his lower abdomen. Her heart broke as she saw his white eyes open widely and fade to blue.

Adrian tumbled down the last of the stairs and his body slouched against the cold wall. He looked down to where the blade protruded from his skin, suddenly feeling dizzy and confused. He could have sworn that Alice had been the one to stab him but this was impossible. Alice loved him, he was sure of that. She would never do this to him. He coughed, blood splattering across the dark concrete. He felt the front of his shirt begin to soak with the thick red liquid. Then it hit him, a pain so intense that he could hardly breathe. He began to gasp and gulped in the stiff air. Adrian lifted his head when he heard the deep, booming laugh. The tall, muscular, blonde vampire was moving closer to him, a smile on his face. Although Alice still stood between them, he suddenly felt very unsafe.

"Alice." He gasped. "Alice, please."

"Adrian, I'm sorry" Alice dropped to her knees next to him, trying not to inhale the scent of his blood that now filled the small area. "Adrian, I'm so sorry. I couldn't let you kill Jasper. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Adrian coughed again, eyes still fixed on the vampire that he considered to be the biggest threat. "Alice, please."

She pried her eyes away from her wounded friend and looked into the hungry, monstrous eyes of the man she loved. It was then that the vision hit her. Jasper planned to drain Adrian's veins. He didn't want to waste such a perfect opportunity to have human blood in his system.

"Jasper, go home." Alice yelled. "You're not touching him."

"Alice," Jasper's deep, black eyes flickered towards her for a short moment before moving back to his prey, "if he dies, his blood will cool. If we take him now, just imagine it."

"No, Jasper! Go home!" She pushed herself up into a crouching position and prepared to pounce if she needed to. "You will not kill him."

"Alice," Jasper pleaded "it's still fresh. You can smell it. You can't tell me you don't want it just as much."

Her eyes traveled back to Adrian. He was on his side now, pressing his hand to his stomach trying to slow the blood. He looked helpless for the first time since she'd met him. He had still had fight in him when she'd saved him from Iris but now it seemed all hope had left him. The aroma of his blood hit her nostrils and she suddenly felt the thirst fill her throat. She felt the dull ache of hunger deep inside of her. She saw herself along with Jasper bent over his body, draining him and satisfying the thirst that no amount of hunting in the forest ever could. She saw herself, a monster, feeding off her friend; a man who loved her almost as much as Jasper.

Alice looked back at Jasper, her eyes much darker than they had been before. "You smell it?" he smiled at her, "Tell me you smell that."

"You will not touch him!" Alice growled as she bent over Adrian's limp body. She lowered her lips to his ear and whispered, "You're safe."

Scooping up the light load of his bleeding body, Alice began to run. She took the steps quickly and fled out the door when she hit the main floor. Placing him gently into the front seat of her yellow sports car, Alice tried to wrap the safety belt securely around him without bumping the blade. She refused to let him die by her hand.

Alice stopped after shutting the door to watch Jasper crawl into Carlisle's Mercedes and drive off towards Forks. Once the car was out of sight, she made her way to the driver's side.

"Alice," Gabe voice screamed over the roar of the Porsche's engine, "is he…?"

Gabe stopped midsentence as he stared at the figure he knew to be Adrian in the passenger seat. Blood lined the side of his face and Gabe knew the silver that glistened from his middle had to be one of their weapons. His eyes were opened but they looked blank. A kind of fear that he'd never felt before swept over Gabe as he turned around to vomit. When he turned back to the street, the yellow Porsche was gone.


	42. Chapter 42

Alice sped through the streets of Port Angeles. She didn't slow up for red lights or traffic. She knew Adrian didn't have much time; he'd lost a lot of blood and was continuing to lose even more. Stealing a glance, she saw that his blue eyes were glassy and his chest was still.

"No," Alice screamed, "Adrian, breathe. You have to breathe. Please, just hang on."

She reached over and shook his shoulder. She wanted nothing more than for him to wake up. She wanted to see that mischievous smile of his and she wanted him to crack a joke towards her about being a vampire. She shook him again but he didn't budge.

"BREATHE!" Alice cried. "Don't die on me, Adrian. Don't do this."

Alice had trouble concentrating on the road after she had looked at him. She feared it was too late already. The bright, yellow Porsche came to a screeching halt in front of the Emergency entrance of the hospital. Remembering their place in the human world, Alice removed the weapons that were still strapped to Adrian and threw them in the floorboards of her car. She threw open her door and ran to the other side of the vehicle.

"Help me!" Alice yelled at a paramedic who was standing nearby.

The paramedic turned quickly towards the frantic scream and rushed to help. He moved Alice out of the way and began cutting away the seatbelt that strapped in the injured young man. He motioned for someone to bring a stretcher to the car while he worked. Once Adrian was free, his body was laid gently on the padded mattress and was rolled quickly into the hospital doors.

"He's been stabbed." "He's not breathing." "Get an OR ready."

Alice could hear the shouting as they moved further and further away from her. She stood staring at the glass doors as they pushed Adrian through the building. When she could no longer see Adrian, she closed her eyes and looked for his future. Everything was black. It remained black for nearly ten minutes. Then his future became crisp and clear. He was going to live; he was going to be alright. For now.


	43. Chapter 43

Alice slid quietly through the door to Adrian's hospital room. She knew what to expect when she walked in. She'd seen his condition already in her visions but somehow the sight of him still caused her to cringe. Adrian lay quiet and pale on the white sheets of his bed. Cuts lined his face from falling down the stairs and his arms were spotted with dark bruises. The hospital issued quilt was pulled over his torso, hiding the wound she had given him.

Standing as close to the door as possible, Alice hoped to go unnoticed by the dark haired slayer that sat next to Adrian's bed. She knew it was impossible for him to be unaware of her presence. She'd already seen his green eyes shift to a fatal white and quickly back to their natural color. She wondered for a moment if Adrian's had done the same under his eyelids. She knew Gabe was ignoring her and hoped it would continue this way. It would be easier not to hear the words he had to say.

"Get out!" Gabe's voice shook with anger as he finally looked up at Alice.

"Gabe, I'm so sorry. Please, just let me see him." Alice pleaded with him.

"Get out!" He tried to warn her again. "I do not have to same weakness for you that Adrian does. I will not hesitate to kill you if you do not leave right now."

Despite the slayers angered warnings, Alice moved closer to the bed. She knew perfectly well that he wouldn't lay a hand on her. Not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't have the heart to hurt Adrian anymore than he already was. So, she tried her luck and sat on the edge of Adrian's bed where she met Gabe's gaze.

"Gabe, I promise not to hurt him." Alice tried to reassure him.

"Of course not. You've already done that."

"I was just protecting Jasper," Alice yearned to explain herself, "you would have done the same if you'd seen Jasper try to kill him."

Gabe dropped his eyes back to Adrian and watched him breathe. He knew the vampire was right but it didn't change what she had done. He couldn't understand why it wasn't enough for her to send his friend home miserable and depressed; she had to put him in the hospital as well. He also couldn't understand why Adrian could have been so stupid to have fallen for her when he knew the consequences of loving her kind.

"Why did you come here?" Gabe mumbled. "You're just putting him in more danger from your coven by being here."

"I wanted to apologize to him once he wakes up." Alice smiled softly and quickly added, "I also wanted to warn you that the Volturi are planning to finish him off soon."

"Becca?" Gabe glanced up into Alice's dark eyes.

"How did you know?"

"We have a few guys in Italy who keep an eye out for them. One had even managed to be invited to their…" Gabe pondered for a moment, "layer, I guess you would call it. He was killed not long after he found out that Malcolm's daughter, or Adrian's sister, had been turned. We have suspected they'd use her to finish the job sooner or later." Gabe explained quietly and shot a sympathetic look at Adrian. "He doesn't know."

"Why would you keep that from him?" Alice shot him a curious glance.

"The same reason you did." He looked up slowly. "To spare him the grief."

Alice opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she saw Adrian's fingers begin to move. Gabe followed her gaze and watched his friend. They stared at him as each limb began to twitch. His eyelids fluttered and the deep blue slowly appeared beneath them. Adrian stared up at the ceiling before remembering what had happened just days before. His eyes traveled around the room and landed on the unlikely pair sitting on the bed watching him.

"Hey." Adrian's raspy whisper caused smiles to spread across Alice and Gabe's face. "Isn't this an interesting sight?"

"Good to have you back." Gabe grinned to keep the tears at bay.

"Was I gone?" Adrian closed his eyes for a brief moment; trying to fight off the dizziness that swept over him.

"Out cold for three days."

"You've been here the whole time?" Adrian studied his roommate's tired face.

"I only left when I needed to eat or piss." Gabe promised with a wide smile.

"Really, Gabriel, that was more information than I needed." He rolled his eyes then turned his stare to Alice. "And you?"

"I haven't been here long." Alice placed her hand on top of his. "I knew you'd wake up today. I just wanted to come apologize for doing this to you."

"No harm done." Adrian gave a slight laugh and placed his hand across him stomach with as he winced in pain. "Okay, so maybe a little harm was done."


	44. Chapter 44

Gabe pushed open the door to Adrian's hospital room and stared in shock at the empty bed. He dropped the bag of clothes he'd been carrying and hurried to the nurse's station to asked what had happened. Adrian was supposed to be released after two long weeks but they wouldn't let him leave without a ride, would they?

"Excuse me, miss." Gabe placed his hand on the counter in front of a plump nurse with bleached blonde hair. "Has Adrian Daniels been released already? I brought his things for him."

"No, dear, he should be in his room." The nurse answered after flipped through a chart then walked around to the other side of the counter. Gabe was shocked to see she'd already been standing. "Isn't he in his bed?"

"No, he wasn't." He followed her down the hall to the room his friend had occupied.

Just as Gabe had said, Adrian was not in his bed. A frantic look filled the nurse's eyes. She began search the room with Gabe on her heels with every step she took. Walking around to the other side of the unmade bed, the nurse clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"Hey Karen." Adrian's voice came in a pant from the floor. "Just doing a few crunches, get my strength up to go face the world. Is that cool with you?"

"Get off the floor, Mr. Daniels." The nurse called Karen scolded. "You've ripped your stitches. I'll call Doctor Price to fix it."

Gabe stormed around the bed and slapped Adrian across the head. "Idiot!"

"What did I do?" Adrian pulled himself off the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. He touched his stomach where there was a small amount of blood. "I don't know what her problem was, it's not that bad."

"I shouldn't have left you here by yourself. I should have known you'd do something stupid." Gabe reprimanded. "You're an idiot. Would it have been too difficult for you to just wait until you heal?"

"You know it would, Gabe. " Adrian grinned then shifted his eyes to the dark hair doctor who now stood next to the bed. "Hey Doc Price. Tell Karen thank you for me. If she hadn't come when she did, I really could have bled to death."

"She'll miss you, now that you're being discharged." The doctor laughed as he fixed the two stitches that had ripped. "You've kept her on her toes the past couple of weeks. She's never seemed more upbeat."

Doctor Price finished stitching him up quickly, wrapped a fresh bandage around his waist, and handed over his discharge papers. Gabe threw the small gym bag across the room that contained the clothes Adrian had asked for. Sliding into the bathroom with bag in hand, Adrian pulled on a pair of blue jeans and a white button up shirt. He searched through the bag for a pair of socks and soon cam the realization that Gabe had forgotten them. After shoving his feet into his shoes, Adrian exited the white walled hospital room and headed towards the discharge desk.

"So, what's the damage Kelly?" Adrian winked at the woman sitting behind the glass. "Do I owe an arm and a leg? Or just a lifetime of service?"

"Actually," The young woman blushed, "all your bills have already been taken care of. You don't owe a thing."

"Who took care of it?" Gabe cut in.

"I'm sorry, I've been asked not to give out that information."

"Short, overly pretty woman, with dark hair, and a smile that will knock you out flat?" Adrian grinned.

"No, not her but don't ask me anymore." Kelly signed a slip and slid it under the glass barrier. "Come by and see us sometime."

"Of course, I'll fake pneumonia or something, just to see those pretty brown eyes of yours again." Adrian brushed her fingers as he took the sheet of paper and laughed softly at the sight of her red cheeks. "Bye."

Adrian crumpled the discharge paper and threw it at Gabe as he turned to head towards the elevator. Once the elevator reached the first floor, he sprinted towards the door. The automatic doors jumped out of the way as he ran out into the cool air.

"Freedom!" Adrian took a deep breath then laughed. "Oh and look Gabe, it looks like rain."


	45. Chapter 45

Gabe and Adrian walked side by side through town in silence. For the first time since being friends, the odd looks from bystanders were pointed towards Adrian's appearance. The thought circling their minds were now curious why a young man, as well put together as Gabe, would be in the company of someone who looked like Adrian.

Gabe had washed his hair and pulled it back with a rubber band at the base of his neck. He had shaved the scruff off his face and wore a dark green polo shirt with his light jeans. His glasses still thick and smudged with finger prints set on his nose. His walk, although still unconfident, had a bit of a skip. Next to him, Adrian's curly hair laid in a mess on his head. His once neatly trimmed goatee was now lost in the overgrowth of his facial hair due to not shaving for the past two weeks. His white button down shirt was wrinkled and loose. His shoes were untied and he walked with a bit of a limp due to the bruising that occurred after his fall.

"People are staring at me." Adrian noticed for the first time in his life. It was easier to ignore the stares when they were of admiration.

"They've always stared, don't be paranoid." Gabe chuckled.

Adrian skimmed the streets with his vivid blue eyes. His eyes settled on a hint of yellow that peered around the corner of a building. "Hey Gabe, you want to go to Jerry's?"

"No," Gabe wrinkled his nose and pushed up his glasses, "I don't think I can handle one of your pizzas today."

"I think I'm going to stop by there. I'm kind of hungry." Adrian squinted to make sure what he was seeing was real. "I'll head home afterwards."

Gabe followed Adrian's stare. "I could go with you."

"No, that's alright. I don't want to drag you along unwillingly."

"Just Jerry's, right?" Gabe shot a suspicious look at his friend. "Because you mind seems a little more focused on that Porsche parked about a block away."

"I'll meet you at home, Gabe." Adrian turned in the direction he'd been staring and began to walk away.

"Damn it, Adrian!" Gabe yelled. "You're going to get yourself killed."

Turning back, a sly smile spread across Adrian's face. "I just wanted to say goodbye."

"One hour, then get yourself home." Gabe shook his head, fully understanding how Adrian felt, but wishing he could force him to behave differently.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."


	46. Chapter 46

"Hello" Alice tried to hide her serious expression with a smile as she slid out of her car to greet Adrian. "I wasn't sure you would notice me."

"How could I not notice you?" Adrian grinned and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. "What brings you out here? Does Jasper know you came to meet me?"

"Yes, my whole family knows." Alice nodded slightly. "I just needed to tell you something. I need to explain…"

"Alice, I've forgiven you already. Don't apologize again, please." Adrian chuckled. "It's not a big deal. Gabe has accidently stabbed me many times when we were training. If I can forgive him, then I can definitely forgive you."

"It wasn't an accident but that's not…"

"I know and I understand why. You love Jasper, not me. I tried to kill him, you protected him." Adrian rolled his eyes. "I'm still breathing, so we're good, still friends. I've forgiven you."

"Adrian, a part of me does love you. Please, never say that I do not love you. It's just that…"Alice sighed.

"You love Jasper more, I know. It's okay; don't worry about explaining yourself to me. I understand."

Alice stepped forward and wrapped her small arms around Adrian's waist. She laid her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat as she hugged him. He would never know how much it meant to her for him to understand how she felt. She could never tell him exactly the burden that was lifted from her shoulders when he said those words. Alice took one deep breath, inhaling the smell of him, and then stepped back.

"Thank you." She smiled. "But that's really not why I'm here."

"Oh," Adrian lowered his eyebrows in confusion, "why then?"

"I've been keeping something from you. And so has Gabe." Alice took a deep breath and tried to find a way to properly word this. She knew it'd be difficult for him to hear but it was best he knew now. Her visions had shown he had only a few hours until he would find out anyways. "The Volturi are coming to kill you. They're bringing Becca."

"My…my sister…that Becca?" Adrian swallowed hard, blinking rapidly as he tried to take this in. "That means that they…they changed her?"

Alice watched him struggle to find meaning for what she had just told him. She didn't want to give him all the details; it would have been too much. She was tired of hurting him and felt this information was enough of a blow without giving him the whole truth. She felt confident that he could figure it out for himself.

"Why would they come to kill me now? It's been five years since they murdered my parents. I haven't done anything that would stand out enough for them to kill me. They wouldn't wait that long to finish 

the job unless…" Adrian rubbed his hand over his eyes as it all became clear. "That's messed up. Really messed up. They know I won't be able to bring myself to kill my own sister."

Alice nodded and slid her hand into his with a gentle squeeze. "She's the one who has to kill you."

"When?" Adrian tried to steady his breathing. "How long to I have to prepare myself?"

"Adrian," Alice tried to comfort him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"How long, Alice?" He growled.

"A few hours." She backed slowly away from him as the anger spread across his face and filled his eyes. She shut her eyes briefly and Adrian's future became blurred. Alice's eyes flew open in shock "Adrian, are you actually considering killing her? Your sister?"

"I have to leave, my hour is up; Gabe is expecting me." Adrian dropped his gaze away from her piercing eyes. "Thanks for letting me know."

Alice grabbed his hand as he turned to walk away. She pulled him back towards her with little effort and stood on her toes. Adrian caught on quickly and bent down to meet her awaiting lips. They stood there kissing under the dark clouds the rolled overhead.

"I love you, Alice." Adrian whispered after their lips had parted. He turned away from her and began the treacherous walk back to his apartments with his mind swirling with the inability to decide if he should live or die.

"I love you too." Alice spoke the words so quietly that she knew he would never hear.


	47. Chapter 47

Adrian pushed open the door to his quiet, dark apartment. He stared into the darkness trying to force his eyes to adjust. A small light shone from the kitchen where the refrigerator door stood cracked open. A smell that he couldn't quite comprehend filled the air. Adrian's heart pounded hard against his chest, he could have almost sworn he could hear it echoing through the room.

"Gabe."He called, nearly positive that he wouldn't get an answer. "Gabe, I'm back."

Adrian's eyes darted back to the kitchen where the light was. It seemed odd that the door would be left open. But he couldn't bring himself to walk over and shut it. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he half expected to feel a shot of warmth but his pockets were empty. His coin probably lay at the end of the stairs where he'd fallen weeks ago. He had nothing to rely on except for his instinct.

"Gabe." Adrian spoke louder this time as he walked towards the open refrigerator. He shut his eyes tight once he'd rounded the corner. "No. Oh, shit."

Falling to his knees, Adrian crawled towards the crumpled body on the floor. His hand found Gabe's blood stained neck but couldn't locate a pulse. He rolled Gabe over and looked into his blank face. The horror he'd felt when he was attack was still etched in his eyes and on his mouth. Adrian was surprised to see his hands were not shaking when he reached to pick up a blade that lay on the floor, just out of reach of Gabe's outstretched hand.

Wrapping his fingers around the base of the blade, Adrian pushed himself to his feet. He returned to the door of the apartment and flipped on the light switch, almost expecting to see his parents laying there dead. Instead, his eyes fell on the face of a pale little girl who sat waiting on the couch. Her eyes were black, not the misty hazel that Adrian had remembered them to be. She was still as small as she'd been the last time he'd seen her. Her hair still lay in a messy braid on her back. A sweet smile rested on her full pink lips and dark circles lined her eyes. She almost looked the same as she had five years ago, except the eyes, they gave her away.

"Hi Adrian." Her small voice echoed through the quiet room. "I've missed you."

"Becca." Adrian choked as a sharp pain shot through his chest.

"Come sit with me." Becca smiled hungrily.

Adrian shook his head and tightened his grip around the blade. "You killed Gabe."

"He didn't want me to see you. He was trying to keep us apart." Becca tried to explain away her actions. "I told him that he couldn't keep me from reuniting with my brother."

"So, you killed him?"

Becca looked towards the kitchen and smiled broadly. She titled her head to the side as if she were reminiscing on something very pleasant. She laughed viciously as she turned her black stare back to her brother. "Yes, I guess I did."

Adrian's knuckled shone white as the clinched the blade harder. He could feel his eyes shifting to a deadly white as he listened to her victorious laugh. Taking three long steps forward, he lifted the blade over his head ready to kill the demon that was once his little sister. In a swift movement he brought the blade down but could feel that contact wasn't made. His wrist was suddenly wrapped in her icy cold hand. Looking down into her hateful eyes, he cringed as a pain shot through his chest again. He knew he had to kill her but it was so hard when he had to look at the face he'd always known to protect.

"You can't kill me, Adrian." Becca shook her head and released his hand, as her eyes grew darker. "I'm your sister."

"No, Becca" Adrian's eyes grew wide and determined as he lifted the blade again. "You're not my sister anymore."

This time the blade made contact. A loud scream escaped from the eleven year old girl that stared up at him. She jumped to her feet, now missing her left arm and lunged towards him. Before she could hit him the blade was brought down again; this time it came from the side taking out her legs. Adrian took a deep breath trying to force him to continue before she was able to pull herself back together.

"No Adrian!" Becca's voice shrilled. "Do not do this!"

"I have to. For you."

Adrian swung the blade wildly, taking chunks of thick marble skin from her. Once he was sure that she wouldn't be reforming anytime soon he dropped the sword. His cheeks wet from tears and the wound on his stomach throbbing from too much movement, he began to pick up the pieces that were once his little sister. He grabbed a light and gasoline from the kitchen counter and walked out the building to the opening next to it.


	48. Chapter 48

_This chapter may seem a little confusing to some of you because I've yet to write about this type of thing. If you don't like it, let me know. I plan to write about it to explain this in a different story once I finish this. -Lilly_

_Deidara's Model-Sorry I killed Gabe. Ooops. It just kind of happened._

_Sonneuntergang-Would you still read if his life wasn't full of things gone wrong? No. Maybe Adrian will find happiness soon, I've yet to decide._

* * *

Becca's remains were burned and now laid in a pile of purple ashes near a dark green dumpster. Adrian sat on the damp pavement staring at the purple heap, dreading the moment he had to go back into the apartment and deal with Gabe's body. He didn't know what he was supposed to do when he went back upstairs. Of course, he knew the proper procedures for reporting and dealing with the death of a slayer but nobody had ever trained him on how to handle the loss of his best friend.

Adrian watched, eyes still white, as the wind blew the ashes around the tight alleyway. He tried to force the image of her cold stare out of his mind; he didn't want to remember her that way. He wanted to remember her as the little sister he had five years ago, not as the child vampire who murdered Gabe. But how could he ever forget it?

After two longer hours and once the ashes had all scattered, Adrian forced himself to move. He clambered to his feet and headed towards the front door of the old, rundown apartment building. Half crawling, he finally made it up the three flights of stairs and pressed his tired body against the door. It fell open from the weight of him. He stumbled to the kitchen where Gabe laid lifeless. Flipping the dead weight of his friend over, he searched his pockets and pulled out a cell phone. Adrian began to scroll blindly through Gabe's contacts until he came across the one he was looking for and pressed the call button.

Two and a half rings later, a deep voice answered, "State your name and identification number."

"Malcolm Adrian Daniels Junior, five-three-seven-two." Adrian spoke robotically into the small black phone.

"Thank you, Mr. Daniels; you are speaking with Jonathan L. Merritt, three-four-eight-one. What is the purpose of your call?"

"I'm reporting the death of Gabriel Alexander Harris, five-one-six-nine." Adrian's voice shook as the reality set in. "His body is lying at his place of residence and needs to be picked up."

"Thank you, Mr. Daniels. We are sending someone right away to remove the body and perform a cleanup." Merritt's voice seemed unsteady after hearing the name of the slayer they'd lost. "Would you like to inform his family or would you like us to handle that?"

"You please." Adrian's eyes stung at the thought of calling Gabe's mother.

"We will take care of it. Someone will be there in fifteen minutes. Stay with the body; do not leave for anything." The deep voice instructed firmly but also sympathetically. "Have a good night."

The conversation ended and a dial tone buzzed in Adrian's ear. "Really? 'Have a good night?'" He snorted with laughter at the irony. "So professional. 'Have a good night as you sit next to your dead friend and wait for someone to come haul his body away.' You would have loved that guy, Gabe."

Adrian pulled himself off the floor with help from the sturdy counter and looked for a wash cloth. Once finding one, he soaked it in warm water then lowered himself back to Gabe's side. He used to cloth to 

wipe away the blood that stained his friend's neck and right cheek. He picked up Gabe's glasses and put them gently back on his face; making sure they were straight.

"I'm sorry, Gabe." His eyes filled with tears. "I promised to be there the next time and I failed you. I'm sorry."

A loud knock came from the door of the apartment, causing Adrian to jump in surprise. _Has it really been fifteen minutes?_ He thought as he stood to his feet. Another knock came louder this time, as the person behind the door grew impatient. Adrian jerked open the door and looked down into the faces of the men that had been sent.

"Jett?" His blue eyes fell on the short Japanese man who held one end of a stretcher. "Isn't it pretty harsh sending you? You're his friend."

"I asked to come." Jett answered running his hand over his buzzed head.

"Let's do this properly, boys." The older of the men pushed his way into the room. "Aaron Gene Davis, three-four-six-two, here to pick up the body of Gabriel Alexander Harris, five-one-six-nine. His death was reported at approximately eleven forty-three pm."

"Jett Sato, five-one-one-four, assisting."

"Malcolm Adrian Daniels Junior, five-three-seven-two, first responder. Are we done with the introductions now?" Adrian rolled his eyes and led the way to the kitchen. "I've already cleaned him up the best I could."

"You've done well." Aaron patted Adrian's shoulder and began to pull supplies from a black leather bag. "Jett, check for a pulse, please."

"You'll be missed." Jett whispered as he placed his fingers against Gabe's still neck, kissed his cold forehead, and held his hand out for the white tarp Aaron was holding.

The three men worked in silence as they wrapped Gabe and strapped his body to the stretcher. They pushed the gurney into the dining room and returned to the kitchen to scrub the blood from the floors. They worked quickly and precise, making sure no blood was left, so no questions would be asked when Adrian turned in Gabe's notice to the landlord of the building. Once the floors were spotless, Jett and Aaron departed with the stretcher rolling between them.

Adrian limped to the couch in the living room and took his usual place there in a reclining position. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the events that had taken place that evening. It was impossible to forget any of it despite his will and determination. So he let it take over his mind and he let the tears slide down his face. Soon, exhaustion conquered all and he fell into a dreamless sleep.


	49. Chapter 49

"Adrian! Over here!" Jett Sato called a little too loudly across the church. He waved his arms frantically hoping he was seen beneath the mass of people. "Come sit with Brady and me! We've got something for you!"

Adrian held up his hand then pointed across the church to a short, plump woman with deep black hair sitting in the first row of pews. He walked slowly towards the woman, trying to decide how to express how sorry he was to her. Before he even had time to open his mouth, she sprung up out of her seat and threw her arms around him. She sobbed into his chest as he stroked her thick hair under the palm of his hand.

"Michelle, I'm so sorry. I should have been there for him. I could have stopped it." Adrian whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry you had to lose him."

Michelle pulled back at Adrian's words and craned her neck to look into his eyes. "It's not your fault, honey. Please don't beat yourself up over this."

"If I would've been there, he would still be alive."

"Adrian, you have no way of knowing that. It's part of what all of you do. It's a risk that's taken every day. It's alright, we don't blame you." Michelle reached up and stroked his cheek.

"Thanks." Adrian leaned down and kissed her forehead. "You're a great mother. Not only to Gabe but you have been to me also."

At those words, Michelle threw her arms around him again and began to sob hard into his neatly pressed shirt. Once she tears had stopped, she stepped away and ran her hands down the front of Adrian's button-down, trying to straighten out the wrinkles. "Go sit with the boys, sweetie. I will see you after the service."

Adrian walked back to where he'd seen Jett sitting and sat down. He glanced up at the lights that lined to church ceiling to attempt to stop the stinging in his eyes. He never expected Gabe's mother to be so understanding. Parts of him wanted her throw blame at him and accuse him of being the cause of her son's death.

"Adrian," Jett tapped his shoulder and waved a key in front of his face, "we got you a car."

"Oh, thanks." Adrian took the key and examined it closely. "Obviously it's not a Viper then?"

"Trust me, man," A blonde haired man in his mid twenties leaned across Jett to speak, "your suitcases won't fit in a Viper but an Escalade should be sufficed, right?"

"You make a good point, Brady. I can definitely live with that." Adrian half smiled.

"It has been said," The priest voice echoed across the church causing the room to become silent instantly, "'good men must die but death cannot kill their names.'

Welcome. We have come together this afternoon in a kinship of deep grief to mourn the tragic death of our beloved Gabriel Alexander Harris, a twenty-four year old man, whose life was taken too soon but did not die in vain. So we have come together here not only to morn but to celebrate Gabe, for a human life is sacred and so is it's ending…"

The priest continued to speak of things Adrian couldn't comprehend. None of his words seemed to suit the Gabe he knew so well. In fact, he was pretty sure that Gabe would have been quite annoyed with being made out to be so picture perfect. The service continued in this way, songs that he was sure Gabe had never heard were sang, people he was sure Gabe had never met spoke, and tears were shed by those who had never paid him any attention before.

After what felt like hours to Adrian, the congregation was finally dismissed to head to the burial site. He followed to mass of people in a daze. He fiddled with the key Jett had given to him, wishing this would end so he could leave and never look back.


	50. Chapter 50

_Final chapter is to be posted on May 10._

* * *

Alice paced back and forth in front of apartment 306-G. She'd been pretty sure Adrian was coming straight home after the funeral, at least that's what she had originally seen but he changed his mind so often it was difficult to be sure. She focused her mind and looked for him again, just to be sure.

"What are you doing here?" Adrian's harsh voice caused Alice to snap back.

"Adrian," She walked towards him and put her arms around him, "are you alright? I'm sorry about, Gabe."

"Please, don't touch me." Adrian pulled himself free than pushed himself into his apartment.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked but was given his answer before he even spoke the words. Her jaw dropped. "You think I wanted him to die?"

"You knew he was dead, didn't you? You didn't even tell me. You just let me walk in here and find him. You didn't even warn me in time to go and save him before Becca could kill him." Adrian's rough whispers caused Alice to keep her distance. "Just because he hated you, you thought he deserved to die."

"No, Adrian, I was focused on saving you. I wanted to protect you. I never wanted Gabe to die."

"Well, in order to protect me, he needed to be safe too. Did your stupid powers not tell you that? Did they not tell you how messed up my life would be now?" He yelled at her. "You got what you wanted. Gabe isn't here to hate you anymore."

Alice watched him move around the small apartment, throwing scattered items into boxes. "But now you hate me?"

"Yes, Alice." Adrian mumbled, pulling the cord of a lamp free from the wall and throwing it into a box. "I hate you."

Adrian went down the hall, leaving Alice standing alone next to the kitchen table. She looked down into the chair that sat in front of Gabe's old, black laptop. She stared hard at the chair, hoping that Gabe would somehow appear there to make everything right again. She wanted nothing more than for him to be alive so Adrian would forgive her and so he wouldn't leave.

"Why Chicago?" Alice asked when Adrian appeared with three boxes stacked in his arms. "Why are you leaving?"

"Because it's over two thousand miles away from you."

"Why?" Alice pried.

"Because meeting you opened a world of pain. Since you came into my life, everything has gone downhill. My way of life was altered. I need to get away from you." Adrian tried to keep himself from yelling gain. "No matter how much things have changed since meeting you. No matter how much I do hate you, a big chunk of me still wants to fight for you. That causes nothing but problems. I am leaving Port Angeles to move on from you."

"You won't make it there." Alice tried to warn. "You won't make it past the Port Angeles Harbor."

"Oh really?" Adrian mocked. "Who's coming for me now? Becca's dead and you seem to be incapable of murdering me. I'm sure you've talked Jasper out of coming for me. Nobody else in your family has ever tried and I doubt they ever will. They're too happy with the way they live now. So, who, Alice, who is it?"

"Forget it, Adrian." Alice turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

"Stupid Slayer." She muttered as she sped down the stairs and climbed into her Porsche.


	51. Chapter 51

The Cullen's large living room was empty aside from Alice. Edward had headed towards Bella's house for the night. Carlisle was working an overnight for the hospital due to staffing shortages. Emmett and Jasper had gone for another hunt and Rosalie and Esme had both locked themselves away in their rooms. Alice wanted to be nowhere other than in her own thoughts.

She sat curled up on the couch, taking up very little space, with her eyes closed. She forced herself to visualize every second that Adrian had left. She watched as he did the most insignificant of tasks that he was only minutes away from actually performing. She watched as Adrian packed up everything that he owned in the small apartment he had shared with Gabe not so long ago. She watched as he ran down the three flights of stairs carrying boxes to an SUV that sat parked in front of the old building. She treasured every movement he made, knowing it'd be some of his lasts.

Alice saw Adrian go back into the apartment he now planned to leave behind. He sat down at the kitchen table that was now bare other than a notebook and an ink pen. He scratched a paragraph of words onto a sheet of the paper and tore it out. He folded the paper and wrote on the front then left it lying on the table. Alice concentrated harder and saw the word written there in his messy script:

Alice

_He knows I'm watching, _Alice smiled slightly to herself. She wished she would have paid more attention when he'd written the letter but she had spent so much effort concentrating on the deep blue of his eyes. She seemed incapable of pulling her thoughts away from his eyes. She knew it may be the last she ever got to see those eyes but know she was curious about the letter that would be laid on the worn out kitchen table.

Without anymore thought, Alice leapt from the couch and sprinted to her car. She started the engine and drove slowly toward Port Angeles, giving Adrian plenty of time to finish packing and leave the apartment. She didn't want to make things anymore uncomfortable for him. It would just be easier to let him leave without another encounter.

Alice parked her bright yellow Porsche a block away and waited for Adrian to leave the apartment building. She closed her eyes and watched his actions again. She waited patiently for him to finish and opened her eyes slowly to watch him once he came out the front door with his last box tucked under his arm. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a light blue polo shirt. She studied his face as he pushed the box into the back seat of the black Escalade. Alice giggled to herself as she saw his eyes turn to where her car was parked. She saw him wink and a small smile touched his lips.

Alice waited for him to climb into his vehicle and drive away before she headed towards the front door of the building. She sped up the three flights of stairs and slid through the door of apartment 306-G. She made her way to the table and pressed her fingers against the indentions of Adrian's script. Opening the letter, she read to herself:

Alice,

If you're reading this, my suspicions are true and you're still keeping an eye on me. Despite the things I said to you, I am glad you're watching. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I know I am in no position to ask for favors but I hope you can just do a few things for me.

1. Forgive me. I really am sorry for the things I said. 2. If what you saw does happen, allow it. Don't try to save me and please, please, don't blame yourself.3. Make sure my body gets back to the right people. Use the cell phone I'll have on me to call either Jett or Brady from my contacts. Tell them nothing other than where to find my body.

From your facial expression earlier today, I know this isn't going to end well and I'm really very sorry for that. I hope you can forgive me for everything I've put you through over the past few months. I hope you're able to move past it once all of this is over. I do love you, no matter what I said earlier, I love you.

With Unwavering Love,  
M. Adrian Daniels Jr.

Alice dropped the letter on the floor and sped out the door and down the steps. She bypassed her car, knowing her feet could carry her much faster than if she had to deal with traffic lights. She sped towards the area she knew Adrian would meet his end and stopped in front of a human figure that hid beneath a dark black cloak.

"Jane," Alice begged once she came to a stop, "please, don't kill him."

"He'll have his choice." Jane spoke softly as she dropped her hood, revealing short, mousy brown hair and crimson eyes. "Death or immortality."


	52. Chapter 52

"Jane, why?" Alice pried as she watched Jane study the road, waiting for the black Escalade to come speeding around the curve of the road.

"He killed Becca." Jane positioned herself in the middle of the dark, deserted road. "He has to pay for what he did."

"She tried to kill him!"

"Adrian Daniels was supposed to die over five years ago. She was finishing what should have taken place a long time ago." Jane smiled as she stared into the dark.

Alice followed Jane's stare and saw the headlights rounding the corner. She stepped back as Jane lowered herself into a crouch. A screech came from the tires of the SUV that was approaching quickly as the brakes were pressed hard. Jane placed her hands out in front of her and slammed them into the hood, flipping the Escalade over her head. Alice swallowed hard as she saw the look of shock on the face of the man she knew so well.

The sound of metal hitting the ground and skidding across pavement echoed in the silent night. Sparks flew through the air as it slowly came to a stop on its roof. Jane laughed loudly as she moved closer to the crumpled metal. Alice followed closely behind.

"Oh Adrian," Jane called, laughing as she tapped on the glass of the driver's side window, "come on out. Let's chat."

She ripped the door off and jerked Adrian out of the vehicle, throwing him to the pavement. Adrian rolled over on the road and pressed his hand to his head where he could feel the blood dripping. He stumbled to his feet and tried to focus his blurred eyes on the woman who'd pulled him from the car. He looked dizzily into the scarlet eyes of the small vampire who stood before him, trying to figure out what this stranger could possibly want with him.

"Good evening, Adrian." Jane smirked and glared at him, sending Adrian back to his knees as the pain she could conjure in people spread through his body. "I promised the others I would make you an offer."

"Who are you?" Adrian gasped once the wave of agony finally left his body. He tried to focus his mind, knowing he should recognize her voice. He shifted his gaze to Alice then back to the unfamiliar vampire.

"The one who saved your sister from the same fate as your worthless parents." Jane glared then growled. "That is before you killed her."

Adrian felt another wave of pain shoot through him as her deep red eyes bore into him. "You're the one who did that to her? You turned her into…into…that monster?"

"I'm supposed to offer you the same." Jane laughed. "So, what's it going to be, slayer? Shall I kill you or would you like me to give you power, strength, and immortality?"

Alice's eyes darted uncertainly at the two of them. Neither of them had made their decision on what move they would make next. She had no idea what the future held, not only for Adrian but for Jane as well. She hated not knowing, it felt as if she was blind. She felt useless.

"I don't know, vampire." Adrian tripped back to his feet, his voice full of sarcasm. His lips twitched as he tried to suppress a smile. "Let me think this one through, it's a tough one."


	53. Chapter 53

Alice watched cautiously as Adrian and Jane stared at each other. She couldn't seem to get a grasp of what move either would make. Not only were their futures blurred in her visions but their facial expressions were impossible to read. They seemed to both be waiting on the other's decision before deciding to make their own. As uncomfortable as not knowing made her, she hoped it would stay this way because it guaranteed Adrian would stay safe that much longer.

"Well, what is it?" Jane's voice sounded patient when she spoke. "We only have until sunrise to settle this."

Adrian's eyes shifted from his empty stare to a look of concentration and thought. Alice saw as decisions ran through his mind and she prayed he would go with his first choice and not say a word; all his other options ended badly. She watched him slowly slide his hand into his pocket and pull out a black cell phone. Alice's heart broke as she realized what he had decided.

"What are you doing?" Jane growled.

"Alice, catch." Adrian threw the phone into her already outstretched hand. "Now, go home, you don't want to see this."

"No, please, no." Alice whispered as she flipped the phone over in her hands.

Jane shrieked with laughter. "So, you've made your decision then?"

"Not quite yet." Adrian smirked.

Jane stared at him angrily. Her patience was growing thin with this cocky slayer. She focused all of her attention on him and felt a little bit of satisfaction as he fell to the ground howling in pain. She took in the look of agony that swept over his face as the invisible hammers pounded into his body causing an unbearable hurt to spread through him. She smiled admirably at her work as the weak human twitched and flailed, trying to escape the power she possessed over him.

"Are you ready to tell me your choice now?" Jane urged as she held her agonizing stare.

"Yes." Adrian choked through a scream. "YES!"

"You father handle that much better than you. Even your mother didn't scream like that." Jane mocked as he leaned forward on his hands and knees, gasping for breath now that she'd released him. "Now, what is your answer?"

"Go to hell." Adrian mumbled.

"What?"

"Go to hell!" Adrian pushed himself into a shaky stance and pulled a long black pocket knife from his torn jeans. "Go to hell, you crazy, blood sucking, piece of…"

Jane slammed into him, sending him barreling backwards.


	54. Chapter 54

Adrian's body crashed into the side of the wrecked Escalade. Jane stood over him smiling and waiting for him to move again. He stood leaned against the vehicle trying to catch his breath and praying the smell of the now free flowing blood wouldn't trig a more deadly attack by the vampire staring at him. He felt pretty confident that Jane was the type to control her urges but he wasn't sure how long they could be caged before she gave in.

"Ready to change your answer?" Jane taunted him, leaning close to his face.

"No." Adrian choked and spat blood and saliva into her face.

Jane grabbed Adrian by the throat and pulled him close to her face, "You will change your mind, even if I have to change it for you."

"Jane, he said no. He doesn't want to be changed. You offered him the choice, he said no." Alice pleaded with her as she realized that Jane had no intentions of killing him anymore. "Please, just honor that."

Jane dropped Adrian to the pavement and spun on her heels to face Alice. She glared at Alice sending a wave of pain through her. "Stay out of this!"

"Please, Jane." Alice cried through the pain that was overcoming her body.

Jane ignored Alice's pleading and turned back to Adrian, who was holding his ribs and trying to get to his feet. She pushed him over and crouched down beside him. Running her finger down the side of his neck and along his throat, she smiled at his obvious suffering. Jane lowered her face and grazed her mouth across the base of Adrian's neck. She could hear his heart pounding and could feel the blood rushing beneath her lips; fear had overcome him. Jane sunk her teeth into the side of Adrian's neck, tasting his sweet blood for just a brief moment before forcing herself away.

"Finish it!" Alice yelled, trying to change the future she'd just seen for Adrian. "Don't leave him like that!"

"No," Jane smiled and wiped the blood from her mouth, "you finish it. Have fun. He tastes divine."

Alice watched as Jane disappeared into the dark night. She ran to where Adrian lay on the dark pavement and dropped to her knees beside him. She could see it in his eyes that the venom was spreading through his face. His face was twisted with agony. She placed her hands around his trying to get his eyes to focus on hers but he was too consumed in the fiery pain that was now swirling through his veins.

"Alice," Adrian groaned in pain, "is it supposed to hurt like this?"

"Yes, it's said to be extremely painful."

"How do you make it stop?" He gasped. "My heart has to stop, right? I have to die before it finishes transforming, right?"

Alice nodded once she realized what he was getting at. She shook her head, knowing what he planned to ask of her. "Adrian, it's not the bad. This life. It's not a terrible life."

"I can't become a vampire, Alice. I can't." Adrian tried to move. "God, it hurts."

"You can, you'll learn. It'll be fine. I'll help you. Carlisle will help you."

"No, Alice. I can't do this. It feels like my body is on fire." Adrian cringed. "Kill me, please. Alice, just kill me. I can't do this."


	55. Chapter 55

Alice stared down into Adrian's deep blue eyes stunned by his request. She couldn't understand how he'd even suggest it to him. She didn't see how he'd think she was actually capable of taking his life. Hadn't she proven to him that she couldn't do it just weeks ago in the stairwell of his apartment building? What would make him think anything had changed?

"No, Adrian, we'll come up with something." Alice pleaded. "Carlisle will know what to do, let me take you to him. We can fix this."

"No." Adrian choked. "Kill me. There's no fixing this. I don't want to become a vampire. I can't do it. And this can't be stopped. I can feel it all through my body, it can't be stopped."

"I can't. Adrian, I can't kill you. I love you. I can't do it."

"No, Alice, you love Jasper."

"I love you too. Don't you understand that?" Alice moved his head into her lap and ran her icy fingers through his damp hair. "I love you too."

"I know but not enough." Adrian shook his head slightly. "Not enough for me to accept this kind of life."

"I can't kill you." Alice whispered.

"Then leave, take the phone, call Brady or Jett, let them know I'm dead, and leave." He ran his fingers over the long blade of the knife he had planned to use against Jane. "This is going to be too much for you."

"No, Adrian, no." Alice cried tearless sobs as her visions became crisp. "Please don't. It's not that bad. Please, just don't do this."

Adrian reached up and touched her cheek gently. "Please, don't ask me to choose this life. I love you. I would do anything for you but please, don't ask me to do this."

Alice nodded slowly as she accepted his decision. It would have been wrong of her to ask him to do this when she couldn't give him the love he desired. Like he had said, it wasn't enough. She knew it would never be enough and it would be unfair not only to Adrian but to Jasper as well.

"Okay." Alice sighed in defeat. "But I'm not leaving you to go through this alone."

Adrian shook his head in desperation for her to understand, "Leave, please it'll be easier, just leave."


	56. Final

Alice leaned forward and kissed Adrian's forehead. She smiled gently and understandingly down at him. She understood his reasons for wanting her to leave. She knew it would be easier for her to resist temptation if she left before he put his plan into actions. She was aware his request was for her own good but she just couldn't leave him to die alone.

"I'll see it either way," Alice reassured him, "I've already seen it. You don't have to worry about me."

"It's not what you'll see that I'm worried about," Adrian shivered.

"I promise to resist. I won't let the thirst overcome me."

Adrian nodded slightly and slid his thumb down the long blade again, trying to build up to courage to do what he believe needed to be done. "Okay, Alice, you can stay."

"Like you were going to stop me." Alice laughed shakily as she saw Adrian's end coming closer. "I'll miss you."

"I love you, Alice." Adrian whispered than pulled his hand holding the knife away from his side. He examined the long silver blade and felt a wave of nausea flood through his stomach. His eyes turned a piercing white as he reminded him that he was killing a vampire before it could cause any devastation. He brought the blade down quickly, sending it through his own chest piercing his heart. His snowy eyes opened wide and fade quickly to blue as the life faded from him. Blood splattered across Alice's face causing her breath to catch as she inhaled the smell of it.

Alice quickly pushed Adrian's limp body off her lap and scrambled backwards trying to escape his scent. The black phone he'd given her clattered to the ground as she moved. She held her breath as she stared at him from feet away. His eyes were wide open, his lips slightly parted, and the black handle of the knife he'd used stuck out from the left side of his chest. She watched his lifeless body lay still for what felt like years before she was able to control her thirst enough to move close again.

Moving forward slowly, Alice watched Adrian lay motionless, not breathing. She reached his body and bent down to pick up the phone she had dropped. She stared curiously at him, trying to understand her visions.

"Adrian?" Alice whispered, half expecting him to open his eyes. "Adrian?"

Alice shook her head knowing that he couldn't be alive because he wasn't breathing and she couldn't hear his heart. She opened the small black phone and scrolled down through the numbers until she found the one she was looking for and pressed the call button.

"Hello?" A deep voice answered.

"Brady," Alice choked into the phone, "come to the Port Angeles Harbor, Adrian Daniels' body is there."

"What? Who is this?" Brady's panicked voice cracked. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, he's dead." Alice spoke then hung up the phone.

Alice slid the phone back into Adrian's pocket, kissed his cold forehead, and whispered, "Good-bye."


End file.
